Attack on Boarding School
by Cranberryfriend
Summary: (Alternate Universe Fic) Erwin as Headmaster. Levi goes undercover as an Art Teacher to investigate the murders taking place at a prestigious Boarding School. With his Squad of Agents disguised as Students, can they discover the truth? Or will the next one dead be one of them? (Character Death? Certain) LeviXOc
1. Chapter 1

Aot Boarding School

Erwin Smith was sitting at his desk, finishing up paperwork for the incoming students. He was also finishing up papers for the outgoing students—the ones that had been killed.

The situation on campus was rising tremendously. This school couldn't deal with further negatives on their reputation. His pencil broke in mid-write, and he cursed under his breath. His phone buzzed, and a feminine voice spoke, "Professor Levi Ackerman here to see you, sir."

Erwin tossed his broken pencil, and pressed the buzzer. "Right, yes. Send him in Amy." He removed his finger from the buzzer, and pulled out a new pencil from his desk drawer. The door opened, and a man appeared. He was on the short side, and he had on a white thin jacket splattered with paint. His hair was dark, and it always seemed he had a natural scowl.

Professor Levi approached, Headmaster Erwin rising to greet him. Erwin was much taller than the man, his blonde hair slicked back professionally. He shook hands with the professor. "Good morning, Professor. What can I do for you?"

Levi eyed the buzzer. "Is that thing turned off, Headmaster? This is important."

Erwin nodded. "I figured—and yes, it is."

Levi sighed, "We are no closer to finding out the whereabouts of the killer, sir."

Erwin plopped back down into his chair, and rubbed his temples. "You've got to be joking. It's been months, Ackerman."

"Just because it's been months, doesn't mean we aren't trying. Sir, we haven't seen anyone suspicious, and no one has shown signs of any motives. The one murdering your students is hidden well."

Erwin grunted, "Hidden too well for my liking. Eight students have died in the past four months. If word gets out…if more parents…look, many students have dropped out of this school. If this continues on, I may not have a school to run, and I don't want to lose anymore of my students."

"I'm well aware, Headmaster." Levi went on, "My agents are doing what they can."

Erwin shook his head, "But are they?" He rose again, towering over the professor. "I've had you as the art teacher for some time now, Ackerman, and the original professor is getting restless."

Levi grunted as a response. "Tch. I expected as much."

"And Lily…"

Levi perked up at the mention of the name, a scowl on his face. "What about her?"

"I still question why you brought her with you. Her being here seems to distract you. She also distracts…"

Levi interrupted. "That is my business, Headmaster. Just like this school is yours. Now as I've told you, this killer is exceptional. He killed off those other agents you brought in, if you remember."

Erwin tensed, knowing how right the man was. "Yes. He did…" He pondered this, and then spoke again, "Professor Ackerman, I'll give you and your agents until the end of this semester to find that killer. If you don't I'm replacing you. Understand?"

Levi nodded. "That gives us several more months, are you sure you can wait?"

Erwin chuckled lightly, "What else have I to lose? I've got no choice. It will take months to get in a new squad of agents anyway. I'll let you have another go."

Levi nodded. "We appreciate it. Your students will stay safe, I promise."

Erwin snorted, "You said that before. But ever since you showed up, more students have been targeted, and more have been hunted down. It's almost as if the killer wants your attention."

Levi smirked, "Well, he's just like me, sir. He likes a challenge."

Erwin's phone buzzed, "Headmaster, a pair of new students have arrived and wish to speak with you."

Eriwn eyed Levi, than pressed the buzzer, "Tell them to come in five minutes, Amy." He looked at Levi, "I hope that concludes our discussion, agent."

Professor Ackerman nodded, "But of course. If you don't mind, I have to teach brats how to paint circles."

Erwin waved towards the door, "Off you go. But remember what I said. Tell your agents."

"Will do." Levi left, exiting the Headmaster's study.

Erwin sighed, and pressed the buzzer. "Send them in, Amy."

Amy replied, "Yes sir, here they come."

Erwin remained standing, the door opening to reveal two students, one boy and one girl. They were small for first years, the girl a bit taller than the boy, with her scarlet red hair in a braid. She wore a mini skirt, and combat boots, with a maroon blouse to match the school colors. The boy resembled her slightly, but he had brown hair with freckles, and round-framed glasses. He had on a black hoodie, jeans, and converse. But they both had the same brown eyes.

Erwin nodded their arrival, "Good morning students. I am Headmaster Erwin Smith." He left his desk and approached them, shaking each of their hands. The girl perked up, "I'm Ariel Cloud."

"Nice to meet you Ariel." Erwin turned to the boy, "And you?"

The boy didn't make eye contact, his arms appearing to be shaking slightly as he replied. "Cricket…"

"Cricket Cloud?"

The boy nodded, "Yes sir…"

Erwin smiled, "Ah, yes. The new twins." He went to his desk, the twins following. "And your mother?"

Cricket snorted, "She just dropped us off."

Ariel gave him a stern look, and continued for her brother. "She had someone to meet so she just left us to tend to it ourselves. Our bags are in the hall, sir."

Erwin nodded. "Yes, yes. You've signed up for your classes already?"

Ariel nodded excitedly, "Oh yes sir, we already have our schedules."

Erwin smiled, "That's good. Most transfer students don't have it as easily, when transferring to a school like this." He pulled some paper out of his desk, and handed each of them a key. "It has your room numbers on them, and the floor. Can you two take it from here?"

Cricket seemed as if he were about to say something, but Ariel intervened, "Yes, we can. Thank you so much!" She grabbed her brother's wrist, and tugged him towards the door. Soon enough, they were gone, the door shutting behind them.

Erwin let out a small chuckle.

Those two sure seemed entertaining.

His phone buzzed again, Amy's voice speaking, "Sir, you have another appointment."

Erwin pressed the buzzer, a grin spread across his face. "But of course…send her in."


	2. Chapter 2

Ariel dragged her suitcase behind her, a disapproving scowl spread across her face. "Cricket, you could have been more friendly. Honestly, it's like you didn't even try. The Headmaster seemed nice, after all."

Cricket sighed in annoyance at the lecture. "Ariel, I tried to be friendly but as soon as we entered his office I shut off. He just—his presence…"

Ariel snorted. "Don't start that supernatural poo with me. His presence was friendly, and welcoming, and you know it."

"Something was off about him!" Cricket challenged.

"The only problem is that he's insanely tall and we had to reach up to shake his hand. Just drop it, okay?" Ariel smiled, "We are in a high class boarding school after all. Think of the fun."

"What fun? You mean sharing classes with snobby little rich kids? No thanks…"

Cricket winced as Ariel elbowed him in the side. "Don't be so rude, Cricket. I bet you roommates will be normal enough."

Cricket chuckled, "Yeah, maybe. Good luck with yours, sis. I hope they freak you out."

Ariel rolled her eyes, "Thanks a lot you little midget…" She bumped into him teasingly, Cricket grumbling while he pushed his glasses into place. "You could have knocked those off, and I'm only—only three inches shorter than you! I'll grow."

Ariel smirked, "We're fourteen already, doofus. You may be waiting awhile."

"Shut up…"

They exited the admissions building, both sighing in annoyance at the sight of the campus. It was fairly well kept, several courtyards, the school brick red, and massive, the dorm rooms looking the same, but less overwhelming in size. Cricket groaned, "Both building look the same, how can we tell which ones for boys?"

Ariel grinned, "That building has a pink ribbon on it, so I'll go over there. That may be how they do it."

Cricket shrugged. "Whatever. I'll go to the other one then. See you later." Cricket waved, trudging off with his suitcase. Ariel chuckled as she watched her negative twin brother flee from her. She pulled her suitcase along the cobblestones, and strolled towards the girl's dorm building. She opened the door, the interior fairly simple compared to the rest of the buildings. She looked at her key: 2C

Second floor, and room C.

She looked for an elevator, assuming such a school would have one, but came face-to-face with nothing but spiral staircases. She let out a groan, and dragged her rolling suitcase up the staircase, grunting as she lifted it up each step. Soon enough, after huffing and dragging she made it.

She took a breath, thankful to be on the second floor rather than the top. She walked down the halls; a few students escaping their rooms and trotting down the stairs. It appeared classes would start momentarily. She found room C and unlocked it with her key. She heard squealing, her eyes wide to find a taller brown headed girl with freckles clinging to a shorter blonde one.

The blonde girl blushed furiously at the sight of Ariel. She squirmed in the taller girls grip. "Y—Ymir! Our new roommate arrived!"

The girl named Ymir looked towards Ariel, and chuckled, "Oh come on Christa, don't leave me so easily!" She laughed, practically lifting the smaller girl off the floor. The blonde girl, Christa, was putting her hair into pigtails as the taller one hugged onto her tightly. Christa sighed, "Ymir, can you hand me my books atleast?"

Ymir smirked, and tossed a book to Christa, who barely caught it. Ymir then turned her attention to Ariel, a grin on her face. "Well, looks like the Headmaster gave me another cute one!"

Christa blushed. "Ymir, stop that! You'll freak her out…" Christa walked past Ymir, and extended her hand. "I'm Christa, and this is Ymir. We will be your roommates." She smiled, and Ariel felt a bit more comfortable. "I'm Ariel. Where can I put my stuff?"

Ymir spoke up, grabbing her backpack, "Me and Chirsta use the bunk bed, so you can use the single bed."

Ariel nodded, and tossed her suitcase on top of it, her backpack already on her shoulders. Christa looked surprised; "You're starting classes already?"

Ariel nodded. "Yes, my brother and I picked out classes already, so why wait?"

Chrsita smiled, "Well then, we'll walk with you, won't we Ymir?"

Ymir grinned, "Well, two short little cute girls walking without a tall freckled friend just wouldn't make sense. Of course we're all walking together!" She flung the door open, screaming, "Get out of my way, runts! Second year Ymir is coming down!"

Christa chuckled, "She may be a second year, but she has classes with us, Ariel. She uh—got held back for some."

They exited the room, Ymir huffing, "I only got held back because I wanted to. That other school just didn't appreciate true wisdom when they graded me."

Christa sighed, "She transferred in at the beginning of this year."

Ymir smiled, "Makes it more fun to be a new kid. That other school just couldn't handle all this." She trotted forward, snarling at a few second years' girls that got too close. Ariel raised an eyebrow. "Is she uh—always so excitable?"

Christa shrugged, "She can be a bit possessive, but it's fine. She's good company once you get to know her."

Ariel recalled back to when the two were clinging to each other. "Yeah, I bet…"

"So you said you have a brother here?" Ymir pitched in.

They were already down the stairs, Ymir kicking the front doors open with ease. Ariel found the girl a bit intimidating, but answered nonetheless. "Yes, he's a first year too. We're twins."

Ariel heard a small squeal from Christa. "Oh, I love twins! They're always so cute! Aren't they Ymir?"

Ymir shrugged, holding the door open for the two shorter girls. "I guess so. Let me scope him out and I'll let you know what I think." She slammed the door shut behind them, a few first year girls being knocked to the ground in the process, a slight dark chuckle escaping Ymir's lips. "Stupid kids still don't know not to exit at the same time I do."

Christa tapped Ariel on the shoulder. "What's your first class?"

Ariel looked at her paper. "My first class is math with—uh—Hanji Zoe?"

Christa lit up. "That's the same as me! I can go with you."

Ymir snorted, "Stupid Hanji's class, thinking they're so smart. I have math too, just with Professor Dean Grand."

Christa chuckled, "Ymir's upset because that's the regular class. You and I are in the advanced placement class."

Ymir snorted, "I tested for that class. Missed it by two points. But did they let me in? No. It would be against school protocol." Ymir tripped a second year boy as they walked past, and the kid fell into the fountain in the middle of the courtyard. Ymir sighed, "That class doesn't realize what they're missing."

Chirsta smiled reassuringly. "I'm sure they'd love you, Ymir Senpai."

Ymir grinned, "Thanks…Well, you two have fun. My class is through the other entrance." She took another cobblestone path, burping in some kid's ear on her way to the door. Ariel laughed a little. "Well she sure is—something."

They entered the building, a few students scurrying to classrooms, other loitering by the doors until the teacher arrived.

Christa frowned slightly, "Oh, please don't think ill of her. She's just really open, that's all."

Ariel laughed, "No, no. I meant it in a good way, honest. I like her. In my last school most girls were all proper snoots. She's the total opposite."

Chirsta smiled, her blue eyes sparkling, "Thank you Ariel. Professor Zoe's class is down this hall."

They went down the hall, Christa leading Ariel into the classroom. The room smelt like burning candles, and sure enough, there were lit candles all over the classroom, posters of dissected creatures plastered all over the walls. Ariel stiffened, "I thought this was a math class?"

Christa nodded, taking a seat. "It is—but Professor Hanji is still begging for the anatomy class. Headmaster Erwin still doesn't trust her with the tools so he has her teach Math."

Ariel took the seat next to Christa, "Uh—okay? When does the class start?"

Christa frowned. "Not for another ten minutes or so. Sorry, I like to show up early. I should have warned you."

Ariel shrugged. "It's fine. It's better than showing up late on my first day. So anyway…tell me about Professor Zoe."

Christa chuckled, "Oh don't worry. Once you meet her, all your questions will be answered just like that."

"Could you at least give me some kind of warning?"

Christa smiled, "Well…she likes pencils."

"Pencils?" Ariel raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah—likes throwing them—at students."

Ariel chuckled nervously, "Well then uh—I guess I'd better not answer incorrectly."

Christa chuckled, "Oh it has nothing to do with that. She does it completely at random. Depends who she's looking at, really."

"Oh really?" Ariel shivered in her seat. "Great…"


	3. Chapter 3

Levi snorted as students filed past his classroom. Lucky for him, he didn't have a first period class. It gave him time to drink his coffee and not be disturbed by messy talentless brats. He sipped down the rest of his coffee, and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. He dialed a familiar number, and put his ear to the receiver.

A feminine voice answered on the other line. "What's up?"

"We need to meet up during break."

The girl on the line snorted, "What for? So you can flirt with that she-devil?"

Levi rolled his eyes. "I told you to stop freaking out about that Lydia, I'll handle her. What we need is that meeting I just mentioned. Can you tell the others?"

Lydia responded, "Yeah, I can handle that. What's Lily been doing?"

Levi chuckled nervously, "Haven't really seen her since yesterday. It's your turn to go check on her."

There was silence, and then a more cheerful response. "Oh that's good! I'll do that during lunch, I guess. So I'll tell the others about the meeting then. Having fun with your brats?"

"Well I don't have a first period class. But that kid that likes to try and eat the paint is in the next one."

Lydia chuckled on the line. "Why does he do that?"

"I don't know. Maybe nobody feeds him, I really don't care. I'd like to shove that paint down his pants but I can't sadly. What about you? How are you holding up for this mission?"

Lydia sighed, "Fine, other than the fact I keep vomiting everywhere and I'm tired of having to scout out for a criminal that won't even show himself."

Levi looked over some sketches in his art book, and replied, "I get what you mean. Having to deal with all these kids is driving me insane. I'd better go before someone catches you on the phone."

"Who's to catch me? I'd punch them in the face."

"You don't need to do that. Just vomit on them." Levi chuckled.

There was muttering on the other line, then, "Okay, yeah. That's so funny. Have fun with brats."

Levi tried not to laugh. "No wait, wait…"

She hung up, Levi still chuckling as he clicked off his phone.

He grabbed a pencil and began to finish up some sketches. It was really the only thing that kept him sane during this whole thing. If they didn't catch the killer soon, who knows what could happen—or who would die in the process.


	4. Chapter 4

Cricket filed past scurrying students, and finally made it up the staircase, huffing as he tried to catch his breath. He was in room 4D. Fourth floor, room D, and no elevator. He was surprised the dorm rooms weren't as fancy, considering the rest of the place, but it didn't matter to him. He dragged his suitcase along, finally reaching room D, and unlocking it. He opened the door, a taller boy with spiky blonde hair standing in front of a mirror, brushing his teeth. He was only wearing a towel, and he gave an acknowledging nod as Cricket entered the room. Another boy, one with blonde hair and bangs sat up from the bottom bunk bed, a book in his hand. He had on a hoodie as well, and waved at Cricket. "Oh Hi! I'm Armin, and this is Jean. I guess you're our new roommate?"

Cricket shut the door, eyeing Jean oddly. "Y—yeah, I am."

Armin sighed in annoyance. "Yeah, he does that. Jean, go put pants on." Armin leaned against the wall while sitting on his bead, and continued to read.

Jean spoke while brushing his teeth, "I 'ave 'as 'uch w'ight as anyone to...'old up." He scurried into the bathroom. Cricket placed his suit on the single bed, his backpack already on his shoulders. Ariel had insisted he have it ready. He had tried to talk her out of it, but she had packed it for him and everything.

Jean returned moments later, with a green t-shirt on. He was putting his belt on, as he spoke, "Armin, I don't see why me doing that always bothers you so much. It's my room too, and I can frolic around in my towel if I want to."

Armin rolled his eyes, "I've told you. I don't care. All I said was not to look like that when our new roommate showed up and you did it anyway."

Jean shoved on some converse, and slapped Armin's book out of his hands, yanking the smaller boy off the bed. "Come on, or we'll be late."

Armin scoffed, "And whose fault is that?"

Jean saw Cricket watching them oddly, and face palmed. "Why didn't you tell me our roommate was here!"

Armin rubbed his temples, patting Jean on the arm, and picking up his backpack. "I'm not getting into this now. Okay, anyway…"

Jean interrupted, "What's you name, kid?"

Cricket stuttered, "Uh—C—Cricket."

Jean chuckled, "Like the bug?" He winced when Armin elbowed him in the side.

Cricket shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. So what class do you two have?"

Jean sighed, "I have Professor Dean Grand. Mister smarty pants over here as advanced Math with Professor Zoe."

Armin let out an irritated sigh. "I wish I didn't. I can't stand her…"

Jean chuckled, "Yeah, but at first you liked her."

"Well now I don't. She's a show off. Can we go now?" He turned to Cricket. "Oh sorry. Are you ready? We can walk with you."

"Oh." Cricket nodded. "Yes, I'm ready. My sister had me pack my bag ahead of time."

Jean smirked, "Oh, a sister huh? Is she cute?" He winced as Armin elbowed him again, "Don't stalk his sister Jean, you just met him, and we have class in less than ten minutes."

Jean frowned, "Fine. Fine. Let's go then."

Cricket followed the two out of the room, him being the one to lock the door behind him. After the travel down the staircase again, Cricket groaned again, "Stairs are the devil."

"I agree." Armin panted, "They wipe me out…every time."

Jean snorted, "I don't see why."

Armin countered, "Well I'm shorter than you Jean, so is Cricket. You can hop over five steps to our one."

"It's not my fault I'm so well built you little runt." Jean laughed. "Hey, Cricket, did you hear about all the deaths at this school?"

"Jean!" Armin snapped, "Don't talk about that…"

Cricket raised an eyebrow. "Deaths? The school didn't say anything when we registered."

Jean shrugged as they walked along the cobblestones. "Do you expect them to? Who would come then?"

Armin crossed his arms. "That doesn't mean you need to freak him out on his first day."

Jean chuckled darkly. "Well, he's not the one I'm trying to freak out." Jean eyed Armin, "You know in the dark the killer might think you're a blonde little girl. Killers like that are always looking for them."

Armin's face went red. "Shut up, Jean! That's not funny!"

"Ha! Totally freaked you out then?"

Armin grumbled, "Some company you are…"

Jean messed up Armin's hair, "You know I'm good company, admit it."

Armin smirked, "Heh. Good company to avoid."

"Tch. You wouldn't know good company if it went up your…"

"Jean shut up…" Armin interrupted. "That's just disgusting."

"Like your hair."

"Like your horse-face." Armin teased.

Cricket chuckled at hearing this, and Armin smiled, "You seem to be opening up more, or at least, you don't seem so nervous now."

Jean smirked, "Yeah your arms were shaking pretty bad when you walked in, bug boy."

Cricket snorted, "Excuse me for not expecting one of my roommates to be half-naked."

Armin laughed at this, "Technically he was fully naked…"

Jean's face turned red. "It's what I do, okay! Get used to it! It's easier to dry off that way!"

Armin and Cricket chuckled, and Cricket let out a small shriek when someone grabbed him from behind. "Hello!"

Cricket pushed them away, a short boy with a buzz cut laughing his head off. "Oh man, dude, you should have seen your face!"

Cricket scowled. "Yeah, thanks for scaring me, you dolt."

The boy laughed further, "G—guilty I guess…"

Jean laughed, "Nice one, Connie."

Connie?

Cricket raised an eyebrow. "Isn't Connie a girl name?"

Connie straightened up, "So what if it is? What about you?"

"Cricket."

Connie nodded. "See? You're named after a bug, so that makes us brothers."

"What?"

Armin sighed, "That's Connie Springer. He been starting to jump out and freak people out ever since that killer showed up. He has the same math as you."

Connie perked up. "So you have Professor Grand too, huh? Nice, nice. Can I walk with you guys?"

Jean shrugged. "What about Sasha?"

Connie sighed, "She's wolfing down some more breakfast. She'll be late to Grand's class if she doesn't hurry it up."

The boys continued walking on, Armin waving to Cricket. "I have to go down this other path for Zoe's class. I'll catch you later."

Cricket nodded, not totally sure if he wanted to be separated from the only sane one in this group but he figured he'd survive somehow. At the moment Connie and Jean were talking about girls they thought were cute, and Cricket zoned out for a second as they went down the path. They entered the hallway, the other last minute arrival students scurrying to get tot heir first period classes. Cricket suddenly felt someone bump into him, a voice yelling, "Watch it!"

Cricket was almost knocked over in the process, Jean catching his arm to prevent it. Jean grunted, "Why don't you watch it, Jaeger?"

The boy who had run into him, Jaeger, was taller than Cricket, but still much shorter than Jean. He had brown hair, and his face just seemed naturally irritated. He snorted, "I'll watch what I want, horse face!" he stormed off, a girl with a red scarf turning to Cricket. "My apologies." Then she went off to follow the angry boy.

Cricket watched as they walked off. "Who was that?"

Connie grunted, "Eren Jaeger. He's kind of a sports buff around here. That girl was Mikasa Ackerman. She's the head cheerleader, and gym coach. She's pretty cool to talk to, just Eren can be…"

"A jerk." Jean scoffed.

Connie nodded. "Yeah. That."

Cricket pushed his glasses back into place. "So he's the boarding school jock huh?"

Connie nodded. "Yeah. He thinks he's cool just because he's a second year."

Jean grunted, "I'm a second year too, but you don't see me prancing around like that. He's in our math class too so have fun."

Cricket sighed, "I'm used to guys like him. Let's go."

They went down the hall, down the way Jaeger had gone, and entered the classroom, Eren and Mikasa seated near the back. Jean went somewhere in the middle, Connie in the front.

Cricket joined Connie, sitting in the desk opposite him. Connie smiled, "Front man too, huh?"

"Math isn't my best subject."

Connie nodded. "Same. That's why I'm in the front. Otherwise I zone out and forget where I am." He laughed.

Other students filed in, the classroom filling up rather quickly. Soon enough, the teacher entered, a tall man with a friendly face and brown hair whistling cheerily as he took his place in front of the desk. Second later a tall girl with brown hair and freckles ran in. "I'm here!"

The teacher, Dean Grand, smiled, "Ah, Ymir! You're not late today! Good! How about Sasha?"

Ymir pointed behind her as another tall girl with a brown ponytail trotted in, a donut in her hand. "Good morning Professor Grand." She said, taking a bite into her donut. Professor Grand sighed, "Take you seats ladies."

Sasha sat on the other end of Connie, Ymir plopping down near the back as Professor Dean pulled out a megaphone. "Okay, class! We have a new student!" he screamed into it, pointing at Cricket. "His name is Cricket Cloud! Let's welcome him!" He started clapping furiously, the other students only doing it to be polite as Jean snickered in the background.

Professor Dean tossed it onto the floor, and pulled out his textbook. "Okay, so today, we're going to talk about square roots, because we're squares! Get it?"

Cricket rubbed his temples.

It was a Math teacher that made jokes.

This was going to be a long class.


	5. Chapter 5

Ariel watched as the last minute students filed in, a blonde boy taking a seat next to her. Christa smiled. "Hi Armin. This is Ariel."

Armin nodded a hello. "Cricket's sister?"

Ariel smiled. "How did you know?"

"He's my roommate."

The door shut, and everyone saw Professor Hanji Zoe take her place behind the desk. She had several pencils in the front pocket of her lab coat, and she pushed her glasses into place. She was tall, her hair in a messy ponytail. She grinned, "Hello class! Welcome to advanced Math!" A pencil suddenly flung from her hand, and Armin jumped in his seat as it whizzed past his ear, a few students ducking, each one in a panic as it successfully struck the wall.

Hanji cackled, "Frist rule of Math!" She waved her finger. "Always have a pencil handy, am I right? I wish we could use tongs for this, but hey! Nobody trusts me with them!" She cackled, fishing a textbook out of her desk.

She pushed her glasses into place, and cleared her throat. "Okay, today we have a new transfer student, yes?" She grinned, pointing at Ariel. "Ariel Cloud, yes?"

Ariel nodded, afraid she'd be struck with a pencil if she didn't respond.

Professor Hanji smiled, "Good, good! I like new students." She turned the page in her textbook. "Okay, get ready for some little review questions! Don't forget about your test tomorrow!"

Everyone groaned, and Ariel whispered to Christa, "Test?"

Christa nodded. "Yes, I'll let you borrow my book."

"Borrow it?"

Armin pitched in. "You're here, so she'll probably make you take it."

Ariel's eyes widened. "Seriously?"

Armin and Christa both nodded.

Ariel flinched when a piece of paper was slammed onto her desk. Hanji smiled, "Pop Quiz time you little maggots!" She squealed, fluttering around the room as she laid down the papers. "Now, remember, you all have twenty minutes. One minute more and I'll let you borrow a pencil if you get my meaning." She chuckled darkly, skipping back to her desk in the process.

Ariel let out a sigh, and looked over the questions. A smile crept onto her lips. This was all too easy.

Hanji sat at her desk, picking up a book from her desk titled _Dissection can be therapy._ She had flipped to where her bookmark was, and was disrupted at the sight of red hair. Hanji looked up from her book, Ariel standing in front of her desk. Hanji smirked, "Need help?"

Ariel set the paper on the desk. "Nope. I'm done. But thanks anyway." Ariel spun back around, and went to her desk, Hanji putting down her book to look over Ariel's work.

Every answer was correct, no errors. She had the written work down, like all teachers asked for, but Hanji could tell it was written down with ease. A smile crept onto Hanji's lips.

Well, well, it looked like she had a smart one on her hands.


	6. Chapter 6

After their math classes, the twins wound up having the same History class, both of them with hands under their chins. Neither one of them was a big fan of the subject, but Ariel could at least stay focused on it. Cricket just doodled little sketches in his notebook while the teacher, Jules Kane, continued to ramble about one thing and the next, when the bell rang.

Cricket let out a sigh of relief, and Ariel was already closing up her textbook, each student scrambling for the opportunity to escape. Next was break, and the students all seemed anxious to get some socializing done. Cricket snorted at the thought. The other kids scurried out as Professor Kane called after them, "Don't forget about the quiz tomorrow!"

Mr. Kane rolled his eyes, and closed up the maps that had been draped over the white board. Cricket slung his bag over his shoulder, and followed Ariel out of the classroom. H let out a groan, and Ariel chuckled, "Yeah, it was pretty boring. You didn't really miss anything important."

"What do you mean by missed?"

Ariel huffed, "Practically everyone could tell you were just drawing. Even Professor Kane noticed."

"He did? Why didn't he tell me to stop then?"

Ariel chuckled, "He did. Twice. You weren't paying attention so he got irritated and gave up."

Cricket's face turned red as he cursed under his breath, Ariel still giggling about History. There was a girlish shriek from behind them, Christa's voice coming from behind, "Ymir! You scared me!"

Ariel sighed, Christa scolding Ymir but no one really able to hear what she was saying with Ymir's loud cackling. Cricket let out a yelp when he was embraced from behind, Ymir laughing in his ear. "Hey! Ariel, is this your twin brother?"

Ariel jumped from Ymir's sudden appearance, but nodded. "Yeah, that's Cricket."

Ymir released him, still laughing. "Well, you're both cute." She smirked darkly, "Not as cute as Christa of course."

Christa blushed, "Ymir, stop that…hey how was History with Kane?"

Ariel shrugged. "He's pretty chill, he just gets annoyed when no one is listening."

Ymir snorted, "I have some crazy second year teacher lady for History. She's ancient. All she does is give us an assignment then passes out on her desk."

Christa eyed Ymir with worry, "That's horrible!"

Ymir chuckled, "Not literally, I mean she naps away while we just throw airplanes at her hair. Oh shoot, I left my book in there again." Ymir let out an inhuman groan, and bolted away, leaving Christa to ramble to Ariel how Ymir would always forget her books.

"Oh come on, Armin! You should join us!"

Cricket stopped, the girls continuing on their way. Jean and Connie were walking with Armin, the blonde shaking his head. "No. I don't intend on getting in trouble just because you two want to sneak around."

Connie made a pouty face. "But teachers aren't as hard on us when you're around. They like you." Connie spotted Cricket, and Cricket wished he had kept on with the girls. Before he could even think of walking off Connie bolted over, putting an arm around him, "So Cricket, want to come hang with us?"

"Depends on where you're going."

Connie smirked, "We want a glimpse of the girls locker room. We've got about fifteen minutes of break time left. What do you say?"

Cricket rolled his eyes. "No thanks. I'm actually going to eat a snack so I don't die. I'm already starving."

Connie crossed his arms, a devious expression on his face. "Suit yourself. So Jean, convinced Armin have you?"

Jean grunted, "No. The little runt ran off when I wasn't looking. I bet he went to the library or something like that. What about you? The bug interested?"

Cricket scoffed. "Nope. I'm getting a snack. I'd rather not be called a pervert on my first day."

Jean shrugged, "Hey, it's not a big deal. I was."

"My point exact—ly!" Cricket stumbled, someone having shoved him, his glasses flying off his face, with him ramming straight into Connie. "Ouch!" Connie yelped, steadying Cricket and yelling, "Hey, what's the big deal!"

Eren Jaeger was grinning smugly, Mikasa's face expressionless as she stood beside him. Eren smirked, "He was in my way, it's not my fault."

Jean picked Cricket's glasses off the ground, and handed them back to Cricket. "Here." Then he glared down at the little jock before him. "Get lost, Jaeger."

Eren grunted, "Fine. This isn't worth my time anyway." He marched off in amusement, Mikasa sighing, her face still blank. "As I said earlier, my apologies." She followed the path Eren took, not even looking back in their direction.

Cricket straightened his glasses, "What is that guy's problem?"

Jean shrugged, "I don't know. He just likes to get attention. But he has seemed to take quite a liking to you, Cricket. And by liking I mean you'd better watch your back. He's got buddies that are much bigger than him—that stupid cult of his—they call themselves The Titans."

Cricket grumbled, "Just what I need, a troublemaker that hates me for no apparent reason with big beefy thug friends. Why does Mikasa even follow him around if all she does is apologize for him?"

Jean smirked. "Don't you know? Oh wait, sorry. Of course you don't. They're engaged. Their families happen to be very important people. The parents planned it long ago. Weather you believe it or not, those two are fiancés."

Cricket's eyes widened. "Fiancés? This young?"

Connie chuckled, "A lot of rich folks do that to their kids."

"That's insane…I don't even want to think about that I'm too hungry. Now, if you two don't mind I'm getting food. Thanks." Cricket repositioned his backpack, and went down the hall. Connie elbowed Jean, "Hey, we still on for the locker room?"

Jean chuckled, "Heck yeah. Let's go."

The two boys ran off excitedly, Levi snorting in disgust as he walked past in the opposite direction, watching them frolic off eagerly. He sipped his coffee, heading back towards his classroom. In the last class he had, some girl vomited in the trashcan. He snorted in annoyance. They had gotten rid of the evidence, but the smell still remained, and that lead to him having to chat with Professor Hanji Zoe to ask for some scented candles. "Tch. That loon." He muttered.

Having experience with many— _many—_ women, he knew very well what that teacher had in mind every time she spoke to him. That mad woman was undressing him with her eyes.

He moved past some socializing students, thankful to have finally reached his classroom. He went inside, closing the door behind him before any students got any ideas about coming to talk to him about grades or some crap like that.

"Hey Levi, how goes it?!"

Levi jumped, nearly dropping his coffee, and he grunted at the sight of Ymir sitting on top of his desk, swinging her legs as she poked at one of the candles. "What's up with the new décor?"

Levi sighed, and set his coffee down beside her. "A kid puked in my last class. I had to convince 'Miss stab the kids with pencils' to lend me some."

Ymir smirked, "I bet it wasn't hard."

"Shut up."

"Lydia would have killed you on the spot if she saw you talking to her."

"I said shut up, Ymir."

Ymir laughed, and Levi sighed in annoyance, "Where are the other agents?"

Ymir shrugged. "I guess they're taking their time. You know, how much longer is this mission anyway?"

"That's what we will be discussing when all the others get here." Levi sipped more of his coffee.

Ymir sighed, "You know, it's funny. I never actually finished school. I just went straight into the agency, you remember that right?"

Levi shrugged. "I never thought about it, really. Lydia finished so I assumed you did too. This is the first time you've mentioned it to me."

The door opened slowly, and a taller boy, a bulky blonde, came inside. "Annie hasn't come yet?"

Leiv shook his head. "Just Ymir. Come on in, Reiner."

Reiner snorted, "I don't see why you have to call us by our student names still."

Levi rolled his eyes. "We talk about this every meeting, Reiner. We just can't do that around this school."

The door opened again, and two blondes appeared, one was a shorter girl with her hair in a messy bun, and a scowl on her face. "Annie." Reiner said.

The other one to enter was Armin, who slowly shut the door behind him. "Geesh, you'd think these kids wouldn't clutter the hallways like this every single day."

Annie grunted, "It's been a few months and you're still not used to it?"

Armin scoffed. "I'll get used to it after those bulky brats stop shoving me in lockers."

"Oh. You mean those Titan boys?"

Armin nodded. "Yeah, I've been on that Jaeger kids bad side ever since you gave me that B, Levi."

Ymir chuckled, "Just punch them."

Armin shook his head, laughing at the thought. "I can't do that, it would blow my cover. I'm the geeky blonde remember? Imagine how odd it would be if I could suddenly take them down."

Reiner snickered, but stopped when Annie gave him a look.

Levi sighed, and set down his coffee, glaring down Ymir until she hopped off his desk. Once she left, he started, "I spoke with Erwin this morning. He's giving us until the end of the semester to complete our task. After that, he's replacing us."

There were groans, and Annie piped up. "We've done what we can, Levi. That killer just won't show up. The last kid he killed was two weeks ago, and when he does it, it's when none of us can see or hear him. Not a one of us has even caught a glimpse of him."

Reiner nodded. "Our only proof of his existence is the corpses."

Armin gave him a look, and Levi continued, "We need to up our game. I know I told all of you to just act like regular kids, but…it's time you guys investigated more during the day. I know most of us do it at night, but with ya'll sitting in classes I doubt it's much help. As of now do anything you can to get out of a class, and search around."

Ymir let out a joyous squeal. "Yes! I can skip Math!"

Levi snapped. "Not the same class each time, Ymir!"

Ymir crossed her arms in a pout, but nodded. "Fine. Hey, I can take Armin's night shifts if you want, and he can use some of my day hours."

Armin seemed surprised. "You want those? But you already have a good amount."

Ymir shrugged. "You need that time. Trust me. I insist. Don't say no to me Levi, because you know exactly what I mean. For you too Annie, anytime you need a break from the darkness, let me know. You can use that time to call Danny."

"To call Danny?" Annie seemed surprised as well. "Oh. Thank you…"

Levi sighed, "Ymir, you can't just…okay fine. Then I want you on night shift tonight. Armin will do it tomorrow, okay?"

All nodded.

Levi sipped his coffee for a final time, and tossed the remains into his new trashcan. "Okay, before we depart, does our head agent have any comments?"

Everyone looked at Armin, and he shrugged. "Nope. You're the one I put in charge for this mission, I want it to stay like that."

Ymir punched his arm. "Oh come on. No tips at all?"

Armin chuckled. "How about this? Don't die."

Ymir cackled, but the rest of them remained silent, Levi rubbing his temples. He sighed, "Alright. Break has five minutes left. Get out of my class and pretend to be brats again."

Everyone departed from Professor Ackerman's class, Levi setting up his lesson for the next group of heathens.


	7. Chapter 7

Ariel went down the hall to her final class for the day: robotics. Every student at the school was required to take one elective each year, and this place had given them a mountain of options. But as soon as she saw they had robotics, she knew she didn't need to look further. It was the same with her brother Cricket, who had immediately chosen Art.

Ariel sighed, walking alone to this class. So far she'd had Christa in almost all her classes, and if not Christa, she had Cricket. She even had them for P.E., where Mikasa had been the Gym Coach. Ariel had been surprised how someone so quiet could be so terrifying. Her last class had been Economics, which most students waited until their third year to take. A boy named Reiner had been there, and he was nice, but now she didn't know if she'd know anyone in her Robotics class.

She felt her heart skip excitedly as she entered the classroom, a familiar voice immediately speaking to her, "Well, if it isn't Ariel Cloud."

Ariel turned in that direction, and she smiled, "Oh, hi Connie! I didn't think I'd see you in a class like this!"

Connie shrugged, "Hey, what can I say? This is my kind of class, trust me."

Ariel looked around, to see little tables, and some storage rooms with equipment. It looked more like a basement than a classroom. Connie then confirmed that it actually had been meant to be a storage room, but the school finally allowed a robotics class a few years back. There were only a few other students, the others being mostly third years. She saw a tall dark haired one named Berdholt, who had been in her last class, and a small third year girl named Annie leaning against the wall in the corner. She heard Connie make a low whistle, "She just transferred here at the beginning of the year. So did Reiner."

"Good afternoon class."

A tall professor had walked in. She wore a lab coat, and pushed her glasses into place. Her skin was dark, but there were visible freckles on her cheeks. Her hair was so short it was nearly a buzz cut. She cleared her throat, and continued, "My name is Scotty Burke, but to you, I am professor Burke, am I clear students?"

The third years gave unimpressed replies.

Scotty rolled her eyes, and began writing some formulas and schematics on the board. "Now, for this assignment, I want all of you to create your own devices." Scotty turned to face Ariel, "Miss Cloud, are you familiar with such devices, or did you just get stuck with this class?"

A few third years snickered, and Ariel replied, "No. I picked it."

Scotty smiled lightly. "Good. Then I don't have to teach. All of you may have a partner if you wish, and you can use any of the materials in the classroom. If I see anyone—and I mean anyone—trying to sleep or goof off I'll bring professor Zoe in here to come pencil you into oblivion, do I make myself clear?"

There were murmurs of yes, and Scotty nodded. "Good. And Mister Connie Springer?"

"Yes Professor?"

Scotty sighed, pushing her glasses into place, "Don't blow anything up this time."

A few students held back laughter, and Ariel noticed Connie's face turn a bit red. Scotty continued, eyeing them all to make sure they were listening. "Now get creative, because this assignment will be a good portion of your grade. And if I'm not impressed, even slightly impressed, you get a big fat zero. Now go frolic around in the metal parts."

Professor Burke walked off into one of the storage rooms, leaving the students to fiddle around with what remained in the classroom. Annie went off somewhere alone to work on a project, Berdholt teaming up with another third year.

Ariel felt Connie nudge her arm. "Hey, want to work on something together?"

"Oh. Sure! Like what?"

Connie shrugged. "I'm not sure. Did you have any ideas?"

Ariel smiled, pulling out her notebook. "I actually have some designs. I had Cricket touch up the drawings for me, but here." She handed it to Connie, and he grinned. "Hey, not bad. A Robotic pet huh?"

"Sound appealing?"

Connie laughed, "Sure does! It sounds a lot better than what I was going to do."

Ariel raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What were you going to do?"

"Uh…" Connie blushed, "I was going to make this thingamabob that could fly, but this sounds safer on my part. I'd probably…"

"Blow up your flying thing?"

Connie laughed. "Yeah. That. So uh—if we did do this as a team, what would you want me to do? After all, it's your design."

Ariel pondered this, looking over her design. "Hmm…oh! You could do that tail, and I'll make a voice box."

"A voice box?"

Ariel nodded. "You know, for it to bark and all that." Ariel snapped her fingers, speeding over to some of the materials in the classroom. "This stuff would be perfect!"

Connie sighed, following her into the piles of scrap metal.

Upstairs, Levi had just begun his final art class, writing down the assignment on the board. His class had a few third years, a good number of first years, and also a few second years. He had Reiner and Armin in this class, which meant he couldn't give away seeming to know them, which he'd been doing well of for the past few months. The classroom had desks, but also stools in the back with canvases for when he wanted the brats to paint.

Today was one of those days.

He also had Eren Jaeger, Jean Kirschtein, and Mikasa Ackerman. He even had one of the transfers, Cricket Cloud. He sighed, hoping that Jean and Eren would behave themselves this time. "Okay maggots, today, we're painting circles."

Eren raised his hand, and Levi acknowledged it with a grunt. "What?"

"We painted circles yesterday professor." The kid seemed to complain.

Levi smirked. "We did, did we? Tch. Well I'm the teacher and we're going to keep painting circles until you and Mister Kirschtein can keep the paint on the papers and not on my floor! Understand?"

Jean let out a grumble, and Eren grunted a response.

Levi sighed irritably, "Okay, use any colors you like, just paint me some decent circles so we can move onto landscapes. If I see even one drop of paint at the end of class, we're painting squares with circles inside, got it?"

Everyone let out a groan, and Levi huffed. "Try not to knock down the candles. If anything gets set on fire I'm sacrificing somebody, and it sure won't be me because I got enough fire after I crawled out of hell. Now paint."

Professor Levi sat at his desk to finish some sketches, while the other students roamed around the classroom to gather paint and brushes. There was a knock on the door, and Levi saw Headmaster Erwin peek his head in, "Professor, I'd like to speak with you out in the hall please."

Levi groaned, and eyed his students with disgust. "I'm going out for a second, so no one die while I'm gone." He exited the room with Erwin, shutting the door behind him. As soon as the door clicked, Jean scoffed, "He's such a moody Professor. I don't see why we have to keep painting blasted circles. This is all Jaeger's fault."

Armin sighed, "Jean, it was your fault too."

"Whose side are you on again?"

"Shut up and paint."

Jean stabbed his brush into some red paint, and began to scribble a circle. "I get it, you think I'm to blame, don't you? You think I deserved to be attacked with paint, don't you?"

Armin rolled his eyes, dipping his brush into some purple paint. "Just pick another color and paint some more circles. I already have five pages of circles and I don't really want anymore."

Jean grunted. "Ignoring my question, huh? Next time I'll throw it at you, Armin."

Cricket set up his paint, and took the stool next to Armin. "So, all you've done is paint circles?"

Armin chuckled. "No. We've done some sketching, some clay, and even body paint just—just for the past few days all we've done is paint circles."

"Why is that? He said Eren and Jean threw paint?"

Jean mumbled, "Eren threw paint…I did it out of self defense."

Armin let out a sigh as he painted another circle. "Don't be a baby."

Cricket watched as Jean scribbled another circle. "Uh—so, you said they threw paint, Armin?"

Armin nodded. "They always throw paint. You should have seen how they ended up after the body art. Jean covered in pink, and Eren practically drowning in a disgusting rainbow." Armin chuckled, "Eren's was pretty funny, to be honest."

"What was that, Arlert?" Eren spoke from behind.

Jean let out an annoyed sigh, and turned in Eren's direction. "He said you look funny, now get lost."

Armin glared in Jean's direction. "I didn't say he looked funny—I said him covered in paint was funny."

Cricket was surprised when Eren suddenly grabbed Armin by the collar, Armin's selections of paints falling to the floor. "Eren, I really didn't want to paint circles again…"

"Take back what you said, Arlert."

Armin scoffed. "What did I even say? Both of you looked ridiculous, and it's the fault of you both that we have to repaint circles. I can't help but say the truth about it."

Eren held up a fist, "Apologize."

Armin chuckled, "For what? All your doing is creating needless trouble."

Eren's fist quivered. "Shut up."

"What?" Armin laughed again, "You're going to punch me for sharing my opinion? You're only trying to be tough and beat me up _because you know I'm right."_

"Shut up!" Eren was about to strike, Jean cursing, until Eren let out a shriek, finding himself drenched with a multitude of paints. Armin had fallen off his stool in the chaos, but even after falling on the ground he was bursting into laughter, Jean trying to hold back his own.

Eren's face twisted with anger, and he stared right at Cricket. "Did you just throw paint on me?!"

Cricket nodded, a bit taken back by how furious his victim looked.

Armin was on the floor cackling, Jean burying his face in his hands to keep from exploding like Armin. Reiner was chuckling quietly in the corner, missing a few strokes on his circles. A few third years took out their phones to take picture. Eren's fists were clenched, and he shoved Cricket, the boy falling off of his stool. Eren lunged, yanking him up by his collar. "You think you can make a fool out of me, do you?"

Cricket heard Jean's voice. "Don't be a jerk Eren! Let go of him!"

"Let go of yourself, horse boy!"

"What?" Jean yelled, "That—that doesn't even make any sense, Jaeger!" He grabbed a paint bucket. "I'll dump this on you if I have to."

Eren snorted. "Go ahead! I'm already covered in paint thanks to this runt over here!" Eren smirked. "Let's see you get in some trouble, new kid." Eren punched Cricket in the stomach, shoving him, Cricket knocking down a canvas as he fell, his glasses flying across the room. Armin launched up from the floor, "Hey! That wasn't necessary Eren!"

"And what are you going to do about it?!" Eren spat."

Armin had his fists clenched, but he stood his ground. "You're not worth trying to get back at…"

"Well he's worthy enough to get a pounding from me!" Jean huffed. "Step aside Armin and let me douse him!"

"Jean, we can't keep making a mess…"

"But you saw what he did!" Jean yelled.

They continued on arguing, Eren shoving them as they challenged him. Cricket winced, standing up from the floor. Dang it, without his glasses he couldn't even see anything. Everything was just a blur, and he suddenly found himself intertwining with what felt like more canvases. He heard Jean curse, then a cackle from Eren as he flopped over again, several student's cries following as he tumbled back onto the floor, more paint collapsing along with him.

Cricket only saw blurs, and some flashes—which were probably from the phones of classmates. He could hear Armin muttering, Jean probably shouting at the blonde, and Mikasa's voice releasing apologies into the wind. Everyone gasped, and Cricket could have sworn he heard the door open.

 _"_ _What happened in here?"_ He heard a voice growl.

Cricket saw blurred movement, but he sighed, assuming that most had pointed at him. He yelped when he was yanked up from the floor, a snarl escaping the Professor's lips. "How did this happen, Cloud?!"

"I uh…" He felt his arms shaking. "The uh—well…you see my glasses fell off and…Eren…"

 _"_ _Glasses?! Jaeger?!"_

He heard faint muttering, and he jumped when his glasses were shoved back onto his face, him now able to see the angry scowl across Professor Ackerman's face. He saw the classroom, canvases on the floor, paint everywhere _but_ the canvases.

Professor Levi spun towards Eren, "Detention, Mister Jaeger. I don't tolerate bullying, and you know that." He spun back to face Cricket. "I may not tolerate bullying…" He grunted, " _But what drives my patience further is a mess._ Cricket Cloud, you don't have detention. But instead of painting circles, you're going to paint me a landscape. I don't care what it is, but I want it done by tomorrow. That will be your first grade in this class. _"_

"Isn't that a bit harsh?" Armin spoke up.

Professor Levi gave him a menacing scowl. "You can tell me what's harsh after you all paint more circles. As I said, Mister Cloud, I want a painting by tomorrow morning."

Cricket's eyes widened, "But…I…"

"Shut up." Levi spat. "You should have let Jaeger mess himself up instead of getting involved. You can stay in the classroom as long as you like to finish the painting. Now the both of you clean this mess. _Now."_

Cricket took a breath, trying to control his shaking, while Eren began muttering under his breath as he brought out the cleaning supplies. Mikasa shook her head in disappointment as she painted more circles, Jean and Armin continuing to paint circles while Reiner chuckled lightly in his seat.

Cricket sighed.

It was only the first day, he already had an enemy, and now he had to do a whole painting.

Great.


	8. Chapter 8

It was the end of art class, the room now spotless and glistening. Levi smirked as Eren exited the classroom. "Well, if you flunk out Jaeger, you'll be a perfect Janitor."

Eren Jaeger grumbled, Mikasa following after him. Professor Levi left the room as well, rubbing his temples as he went down the hall.

Armin and Jean hovered around Cricket as he got out some paints.

"So you're just going to stay in here until you're done?" Jean asked.

Cricket nodded. "Yeah. You guys can go on without me, this will take awhile."

Armin let out a sigh. "I still don't think this is fair."

"It's fine…" Cricket reassured him. "It's better than painting circles right?"

Armin shrugged. "I guess. I just didn't expect Professor Midget to be so hard on— never mind. I'm not surprised…"

Jean nudged Armin with his elbow. "Okay, well, now that we're done here can you help me with math again? We're doing some weird code with shapes and I have absolutely know idea what we're doing."

"Yeah, I can help. But pay attention this time, I'm tired of talking to air. Byt Cricket…good luck."

"Yeah. Good luck." Jean added.

They waved to Cricket as they left, Armin continuing, "Did Professor Grand tell you how?"

"Yes…but…I fell asleep…"

Cricket heard a faint moan come from Armin, Jean's pleading voice fading as they went down the hall.

They were gone now, Cricket beginning to sketch his outline, when he heard a delighted squeal. He turned, nearly falling off his stool when his sister Ariel barreled towards him. "Cricket! My robotics class is amazing! Look!" She was holding a little box, and she added some pressure, the little metal box beginning to make barking sounds. "It's so adorable! Connie and I are making a puppy!"

"A—A puppy? Like a Robotic dog?"

"Yes!"

Connie entered, panting. "Geesh Ariel why did—why did you have to run like that? Whew—oh…oh hi Cricket! Ready to get going?"

Cricket sighed, "No…I got into some trouble and I have to paint a whole landscape by tomorrow…"

"A whole landscape?" Ariel put her box into her bag. "What do you mean by trouble? What trouble?"

Connie snorted. "He probably means Eren Jaeger happened. Right?"

Ariel crossed her arms. "Jaeger, huh? Well, if I ever see him I'll kick him into another dimension!"

Cricket began to sketch again. "Have fun with that…anyway, you two had better leave before Professor Levi tries to lessen my time period."

"Fine…" Ariel huffed. "But if it wasn't your fault, I don't see why you're the one punished."

Cricket grabbed a few paintbrushes. "It' because I made the mess…"

Connie laughed, Ariel giving him a glare that turned his cackles into nervous coughing. Ariel punched Cricket gently on the arm. "Well, I guess I'll get going then. Let me know how your landscape goes."

"It will probably look like a piece of rushed crap, but thanks."

Ariel rolled her eyes, heading for the door, Connie trailing behind. "I don't see why Cricket is the one in trouble."

Connie shrugged. "Well, from what I hear Professor Ackerman hates messes more than anything else, so Cricket can't really fight back on that one. He's screwed, sor—ry!" Connie jumped from a pinch in his side, Ymir's cackling echoing in the halls.

Christa's voice was heard as well, "Ymir, you need to stop scaring peole!"

Connie rubbed his side. "Ow! Ymir, why would you pinch me like that?!"

Ymir shrugged. "Hey. You've been scaring people out of the blue too. I didn't want to miss out on the fun."

"Then why do it to me?!"

"Well, for starters you should have seen your face!" Ymir cackled, "It was priceless…"

"Yeah well…" Connie huffed. "I don't have time for that right now. Ariel and I are working on a project for robotics class."

Christa perked up. "Oh, You're partners? How cute!"

Ymir chuckled, patting Ariel on the shoulder. "Watch out, Cloud, looks like Connie has a crush on you."

Ymir and Christa both burst into laughter as Connie's face went red. "Now hold on a second! Ymir, that's not fair!"

"Hey!" Ymir started, "He isn't denying it!"

Ariel found herself laughing too, Connie's face now scarlet. "Oh yeah?! What about you, Ymir?! You flirt with Christa! Hey! Hey! Why are ya'll still laughing?! What is—oh forget it. Forget it! I'm going to see Jean and Armin!"

The girls continued cackling, Connie rushing past them. "You see this?! I'm so offended I'm wanting to do math!" He stormed out of the hall, Ymir wiping tears from her face. "Oh man, that was splendid. He totally likes you, Ariel!"

Ariel's giggles faded slightly. "Oh Ymir, leave him alone. He doesn't have a crush on me, we're just friends."

Ymir smirked. "That's what they all say at first. Then boom! Make out sessions in the locker rooms. Am I right Christa?"

Christa's face went red. "Shut up Ymir…that has nothing to do with me."

"Mhm. Whatever you say…maybe I'll tell Connie you're the one that's interested in _him! That you want to kiss him!_ " She sped off down the hall, Christa's face turning white.

"What?! No! Ymir!" Christa pleaded, chasing after her friend. "Come back! That's not true at all! Ymir! Don't!"

"Better catch me cutie pie before I tell the world your dark secrets!" Ymir screamed.

"No! Ymir!" Christa took off into a sprint. "Come back!"

Ariel pulled out her voice box, listening to the barking as her roommates carried on with their madness.


	9. Chapter 9

Levi sat down at one of the tables in the teacher's lounge, and gulped down another cup of coffee, still fighting back the migraine that had formed during his last period art class. It had been several hours now, the students most likely in dorms due to curfew, if the teachers were lucky.

Why did Jaeger have to cause so many problems?

And Cricket Cloud— _The Mess Maker._

He poured himself another cup of coffee, stirring it with disinterest. He heard talking, groaning at the idea of having to socialize with other faculty members. "She managed to build a voice box for the thing! It was incredible!" He heard the voice of Professor Scotty Burke speak.

He winced at hearing Hanji Zoe reply. "In that amount of time? That's impressive! Did it make a barking sound?"

They entered, Levi cursing mentally, and Scotty's face lit with excitement. "Yes! It worked and everything!"

Scotty began to make some fresh coffee, Hanji's face lighting up as well. "I'm glad you mentioned Ariel Cloud, Scotty, because she finished my quiz in less than two minutes! Every answer correct, all the work done too!"

Levi snorted at hearing this. Ariel Cloud may have been successful but her brother was a complete annoyance.

Scotty smirked. "Well, she seems to be quite the little genius doesn't she?" Scotty poured herself some coffee, Hanji doing the same as she babbled on, "I tell you, I can't wait to see what that girl will do in your class Scotty, let me know how that project goes."

Scotty sipped her coffee, "I definitely will. See you later, I have papers to grade." She took her cup with her, leaving Hanji and Levi alone in the teacher's lounge.

Levi sipped his coffee, praying that the woman wouldn't speak to him when, "OH Professor Ackerman…"

He grunted as the wicked witch of the glasses took the seat next to him, scooting her chair even closer than humanely possible. "How was your day, shorty?"

Levi let out an inhuman groan, but answered nonetheless. "It was fine, Zoe. The candles helped kept all the stench away…"

She cackled as if it had been his way of flirting, Levi not sure how she didn't understand that the stench reference was of her.

Love is blind.

He shuddered at thinking it.

He felt her finger touch his cheek. "Busy tonight?"

He sighed heavily, "I _am_ busy. I'm grading art." He tossed his unfinished coffee cup into the sink, and rushed out the door.

Hanji called out, "I'll see you tomorrow shorty!"

He felt his headache rise, and he mumbled dark curses things under his breath. "Leave me alone you mad woman…"

He could hear her cackling away even from the end of the hall, and he took a turn down the hall, glad to finally have some peace and quiet.

Now it was time for him to check up on Lydia.

He went down the next hall, entering the nurse's office, a petite blonde with a side shave and piercing blue eyes messing with some papers. She was in a white nurses outfit, and she smiled when she saw him enter. "Well, if it isn't Professor Ackerman. You had time for me today?"

The room was empty, and the lights were already out, besides the lamp that Lydia had one by her desk. Levi sighed, "Sorry, Lydia. The brats drove me crazy today."

Lydia chuckled, "I'd assume so. Have you seen Lily yet?"

"No…is she still awake?"

Lydia shook her head. "I went to say goodnight an hour ago."

Levi rubbed his temples, "I'm sorry…"

"Don't apologize to your wife. Go see your daughter."

Levi shook his head. "Nah. I wouldn't want to wake her. Is she liking the daycare?"

Lydia nodded. "It's been a good place for her to stay during this mission, Levi, but how much longer will it be?"

"Right…" Levi went on, "You missed the meeting."

Lydia crossed her arms, smirking. "I only missed it due to the student that barfed in your class."

"Oh yeah…the barf brat…got anything for a headache?"

"Headache huh?"

"No, it's actually a growing migraine that could have caused me to kill children. Tell me you have some drugs."

Lydia nodded, an amused smile on her face. "There's some Advil in that closet over there. Have any interesting new students? I heard there were a few transfers."

Levi went to the closet, and gulped down a pill. "No…not one. They're all brats…"

Lydia sighed, shuffling some more papers. "That's a shame. So Levi, How are my crazy siblings?"

"Armin and Ymir? Tch. Annoying like always—Ymir is being loud and Armin gets thrown in lockers."

"Typical. They never come see me in here. Tell one of them to fake sick will you?"

Levi chuckled, "Will do. Hey, you and Lily should go do something."

"Hmm?" Lydia chuckled, "Where would I take a two year old?"

"I don't know. Somewhere. Just take a break." Levi took a hold of her hand. "You seem tired."

"Do I?" She nodded. "Well your right. I am. All right _Professor Ackerman_ , I'll take the day off and take her somewhere. Happy now?"

"I'm thrilled…all I have to do now is go lock up my classroom. Care to walk with me?"

Lydia shook her head. "I still need to check some things. Go on and be Mister teacher."

"Tch. Nurses." He kissed her on the cheek, and headed for the door. "Don't stay up too late." He scolded.

"Don't drown in paint, loser." Lydia called back.

Levi chuckled, his headache not as bad as before. He took out the key to his classroom, taking the long way to avoid bumping into _it_ — _the glasses monster._


	10. Chapter 10

Cricket shook off some paint that had gotten onto his hoodie, and continued with his landscape painting. The lights were off, but he head relit a few candles for some light. He bit his lip in concentration, adding a few more strokes to his art piece. He sighed in disappointment.

It was horrific.

He had done fast paintings before, but this was ridiculous. Sure, painting usually did only take a few hours, but he was a perfectionist, and his stupid Professor was an even bigger perfectionist that could hang him by the hairs of paintbrushes if he so desired it. Cricket's hand began to shake, and he cursed mentally, adding a few final strokes. He eyed what he did carefully, and yawned. What time even was it now?

He looked at his watch: 10:00pm.

He was surprised that Professor Ackerman hadn't shown up at all. Cricket yawned gain, and draped a cloth carefully over his painting. He rinsed off his paintbrushes, attempted to rinse the paint off his sleeve, but gave up after it began to smear. He blew out the few candles he had lit, grabbed his backpack, and headed for the door. He exited the classroom, slowly shutting the door behind him. It was basically pitch black in the hallway, aside from a light down the hall, and the moon through the windows.

Well, this added a bit of a spooky factor to the school didn't it?

Cricket walked down the hall, taking the turn that lead to the entrance tot eh courtyard. He gripped the doorknob, a sudden chill creeping down his spine.

Why the chills?

He shook it off, and exited the hall, walking down the cobblestone path towards the dorms. He felt another chill, and looked behind him, only to find nothing.

He didn't know why, but his chest was pounding slightly. "Calm down it's just the dark…" He scolded himself. He went on, suddenly checking behind him again.

Why was he on edge all of a sudden?

He heard what sounded like water, passing the water fountain in the middle of the courtyard. He looked into the water, staring at his own reflection to find some paint on his cheek. He used his sleeve to wipe it off, the moon shining down into the water below him. The water rippled, and another image appeared beside him. He spun around to see what was behind him, his heart racing faster, but still finding nothing. "What the hell…" He muttered.

Was it a ghost?

Did the spirits choose now of all times to try and communicate with him?

He felt his arms shaking now, and he gripped the handle of his backpack to try and calm himself down. He was halfway to the dorms. He was fine, right?

He walked on, but stopped immediately.

This time he heard something. Footsteps? Breathing? He could feel a presence, but didn't want to check again and find he was still being stupid.

But it's better to be stupid then dead, right?

The water fountain's sounds were faint now as he picked up his speed. The dorms were in sight now, but his hands were still trembling. He took a breath, and spun around. "Who…" There was still no one.

He pushed his glasses into place with a shaking hand, and sighed with relief. He turned back around to face the dorms, but instead he saw something black in front of him. It was a tall figure, a black cloak draped over them, and he looked up to find a face, but only found two narrowed eyes, a black bandana covering the rest of their face.

A hand began to reach for him, and he felt his heart try to jump out of his chest. The figure tried to grab him, but he somehow managed to dodge its grasp by whacking the figure in the face with his backpack. The figure snatched the bag, throwing it to the side, Cricket running back towards the school in the chaos. He could hear quick footsteps behind him, and he forced his legs to go as fast as they possibly could.

 _Crap, it was the killer._

 _He finished that painting for nothing._

Crcket was panting now, but he kept on, the footsteps closing in. He could see the entrance to the school, his legs about to give out from the speed. He could hear breathing now, his own breathing almost lost. He yelped when he felt a hand grip his arm and yank him back, a large hand pressing a sweet-smelling cloth over his mouth and nose. He tried to squirm, but the figure had him in a vice-like grip. He felt a pang of dizziness overwhelm him, so he held his breath, trying not to smell the cloth the figure was forcing onto him. He heard the figure curse quietly from Cricket's struggling, and Cricket managed to kick back, striking the figure in between the legs. There was a pained grunt, and Cricket was dropped onto the ground. His glasses flew off him, but he could make out a blur of the figure lunging for him. He launched himself towards the entrance, opening the doors to the school and rushing into the hall. He wasn't sure what miracle had allowed him to get inside without running into a wall, but he was thankful. He couldn't hear anyone chasing him, but his head was beginning to feel fuzzy.

Cricket yelped when he ran into something, a voice snapping, "Ow! Stupid brat…" He felt a hand grab his arm, and he began struggling, "No! Let go of me!"

"Cricket! Hey, Cloud!" The figure called his name, grabbing his other arm. "Calm down, kid! What are you screaming about?!"

Cricket stopped, recognizing the grouchiness in the tone of the voice. He squinted, trying to make out a face. "P—Professor—Ackerman?" He stuttered.

"Yes, it's me. Why the hell are you shaking so badly?! Why aren't you in your dorm?!" He sounded angry.

Cricket still felt his heart racing, his arms and legs shaking uncontrollably. "I—I…th—there was this—I think it was a m—man…"

He felt Professor Ackerman grip him more firmly. "A man? Tch. There's men all over this school! Get back to your dorm." He tried to walk off, surprised when Cricket grabbed his sleeve. "S—sir…" He was still panting, but sounded more panicked. "I don't…want to go out there by…myself…"

Levi was about to groan about the kid being scared of the dark, when he noticed Cricket didn't have his glasses on. "Cricket where are your glasses?"

Cricket was still shaking, "Well…the—the man…"

 _The man._

 _The Killer?_

Cricket yelped when he felt the Professor grip him. "What kind of man?!"

"I—what?"

"Good or bad?!" His tone changed more to worry rather than scolding.

"Uh—b—bad…"

Professor Levi pressed on. "What did he look like?"

"Tall…" Cricket panted, "Cloak…don't really know…but…tall…"

"Did he hurt you?"

Cricket's head felt fuzzy again, Professor Levi holding onto him to keep him from swaying. "He…grabbed…me…"

Cricket winced as Levi's grip got tighter. "He grabbed you?! Did he try to kill you, Cricket? Do you think he wanted to kill you?"

Cricket tried to think on it, but that only furthered the fuzziness that was clouding his head. Everything was blurry, but this time he felt it didn't have anything to do with him missing glasses. "I don't…maybe…" He whimpered, _"I don't…want to…"_

He felt Professor Levi pat his cheek. "Hey. Hey. Are you trying to pass out on me?"

"Huh?"

Cricket felt him lift his chin, Levi's voice seeming more faint. "Did he do _anything?"_

"There was…" Cricket's vision darkened a bit. "This smell…"

 _"_ _Chloroform…"_ Levi muttered.

Cricket didn't recognize the word. "Chloro—what?"

"Don't worry about it. Why were you out so late?"

Cricket could still feel the Professor keeping his head up. _"I…was…"_ He slurred, _"Painting…"_

Levi cursed when his student went limp, passing out in his arms. "Damn it…Cricket? _Cricket?"_

Painting.

Cricket nearly got abducted because he had been painting.

Levi felt a pang of guilt, and cursed at himself once more. He looked down the hall, no one in sight. Whoever had been after the poor kid had vanished. Cricket was just lucky he had been coming this way. Especially since he was unconscious now.

Levi sighed, hoisting Cricket up, carrying him piggyback. Levi grunted, "You're heavier than you look, brat…"

Levi managed to open the doors while carrying Cricket, but he remained cautious as he walked down the path towards the dorms. What room was this kid in anyway?

He felt a buzzing in his pocket, and he shifted, reaching into his pocket and shoving his phone between his chin and his shoulder, re-taking his hold of Cricket. "Hello?"

"Levi?"

"Reiner? What is it?"

Reiner sighed. "Well, we haven't seen anything. Ymir went off to check the parking lot, and Annie went off somewhere."

"Well then you guys missed out."

"What do you mean?"

Levi snorted. "While you were frolicking around the inside of the school you left the courtyard vulnerable, idiots."

"Did anything happen?"

"No, but something almost did. One of my students was nearly abducted over here."

He heard Reiner curse, then, "You're joking…"

"I'm not."

"Who—who was it?"

Levi chuckled, "It's funny you should ask. I want a file on him, to figure out why they tried to take him rather than just kill him."

"Okay. Shoot. Who is it?"

Levi huffed as he entered the dorms, and began to carry Cricket up the staircase. "Cricket Cloud—and—and while your at it, what room is he in?"

Reiner was silent, than answered. "Okay. I'll get the files soon. And I know his room, it's the same as Armin's."

Levi sighed with relief. "Okay. Good. I know where he is. Thanks. Have everyone check near the courtyard."

"Alright." Reiner hung up, and somehow Levi managed to get his phone back into his pocket without dropping Cricket down the stairs. He huffed, "Man I hate stairs…" and kicked on the door. It opened rather quickly, a bed-headed Jean opening the door. He spoke groggily, "What is…" His eyes widened. "P—professor Ackerman?"

Levi nodded. "Yeah, yeah. Rejoice. I have…arrived. Take this brat off me…"

"Cricket?" Jean retrieved Cricket from Levi, holding him on his back just like Levi had. "What happened?"

Levi was still huffing from the stairs. "Nothing…He just fell asleep in my classroom while…painting."

Jean raised an eyebrow. "And you—you brought him back?"

"Don't question it, brat. Just…go to bed." Levi walked off, Jean shutting the door, and Levi grumbling as he made his perilous journey down the staircase once again. He then remembered he still had to lock his classroom door.

He made it back to his classroom shortly, but found the door ajar.

 _Crap._

He nudged it carefully, an emotionless voice answering, "It's only me, Levi."

Levi entered, to find Annie sitting in one of the desks. He sighed, "What are you doing in here, Annie?"

"I was going to sit in here to call Danny, but he didn't pick up the phone. I'm guessing you came to lock the door?"

"Yeah…I was going to do it earlier but I was interrupted."

Annie raised an eyebrow. "By what? Lydia?"

Levi snorted. "No, not Lydia. Cricket."

"Cricket Cloud?"

Levi nodded. "He was nearly abducted tonight. He was lucky enough to run into me before passing out from chloroform."

Annie's eyes widened slightly, "You're joking right?"

"No. Sadly."

"What's special about him?" Annie rose from the desk.

"I wouldn't know. I have Reiner looking in his files. It's just—I feel it's my fault."

Annie smirked. "I've never known you to blame yourself too much. Why do you feel that?"

Levi pointed at a covered canvas in the corner. "That. I had him do a painting as a punishment for messing up the classroom. Maybe if I hadn't done that…"

"If you hadn't done that, you may not have found him." Annie stated. She crept towards the canvas. "This painting here?"

Levi rubbed his temples, still dead from all the walking and stairs. "Yeah, that one…"

Annie lifted the draped cloth, and Levi saw her eyes widen. "Hey, this isn't bad."

"What?" Levi came over. "Let me see that… _Craptastic trees…_ damn that's a good painting…to think…he did that in…how many hours?"

"Even I think it's good."

Levi snorted. "Tch. I'd give it an A."

Annie smirked. "Well, well, I guess you've found your favorite student, haven't you Professor Levi?"

Levi draped the cloth back over the painting, a scowl across his face. "Tell anyone that and I'll—I'd kill you but I'm too tired…but yeah…the brat sure can paint but…"

"But what?"

Levi sighed. "It still makes me wonder…what would the killer want with a brat that could paint?"


	11. Chapter 11

Cricket woke up to blurriness around him, his head feeling a tad fuzzy. It was hard to recall, but he remembered the figure, and then Professor Ackerman. Had he brought him to his dorm?

Cricket groaned as he fumbled around for his bag, taking the spare glasses out of his backpack. Luckily it was beside him, and he didn't have to prance around the room like an idiot to find it. The sun blinded him from the window, and he threw off his blankets, realizing he was still in his clothes from yesterday.

He looked at the clock, his eyes wide.

9:30am?

Didn't classes start at eight? He saw that Armin was still asleep, but Jean wasn't even in the room. He scurried to the other end of the room, gently shaking Armin's arm. "Armin. Hey, Armin."

"Huh?" He spoke groggily, "What is it?" He opened one eye.

"It's past nine."

Armin woke up a bit. "What? No way."

Cricket pointed at the clock. "No, it really is."

Armin's eyes widened, and he leapt out of bed. "What the…how is that possible? Did the alarm not go off?"

"I guess not…" He jumped out of the way as Armin rushed past him, grabbing some jeans out of a drawer and already shoving them on. "Professor Zoe is going to strangle me, Professor Ackerman is going to strangle me too…I'm just going to die today…hey, wait, where's Jean?"

The door opened, and Jean entered, a box of donuts in one hand, a coffee in the other. "Hey, you guys are awake!"

Cricket jumped as Armin yelled, "What were you doing?! Why didn't you wake us up or something?!"

Jean snorted, setting the items down on the counter. "Well, pardon me for letting you guys sleep in like a good person."

"What do you mean sleep in?" Armin groaned, "We're at school!"

"Oh…" Jean looked at the floor. "Right. Uh—morning classes are cancelled."

Armin was surprised. "Cancelled?"

Jean shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah uh—they found uh—the history teacher Jules Kane—they—they found his body in the hallway this morning."

Armin and Cricket's eyes widened, Armin stuttering, "B—body? You mean to say he's dead?"

Jean nodded. "Yeah…Connie came and told me this morning. He knew from having to get up to take a test he missed. They announced it earlier, but since I knew, I let you guys sleep. Besides, I did try to wake up Cricket but he wouldn't budge." Jean glared in Armin's direction. "And the last time I tried to wake _you_ up you nearly punched me in the face."

Armin's face went red. "Sorry…anyway…Kane's dead?"

Jean nodded. "He was murdered last night."

Cricket felt a shiver down his spine.

 _Someone was murdered._

 _He could have been too._

"Cricket, are you okay?" Jean started. "You look really freaked."

Cricket jumped when he heard Jean speak. "Oh. Yeah, I'm fine. It's just—hearing about a murder isn't exactly a good thing."

Armin had just finished brushing his teeth, and then threw on a t-shirt and a hoodie. "Jean, is everyone awake?"

Jean grabbed a donut out of the box, and began eating it. He spoke through mouthfuls, "I 'ink so. "aybe not."

Armin quickly grabbed his backpack, Jean holding out the coffee, Armin snatching it as he rushed out the door. Cricket took a donut out of the box. "He doesn't like donuts?"

Jean shrugged. "He doesn't really eat breakfast. I don't even know if he likes coffee."

"Then why do you get it for him?"

Jean bit into another donut. "So he 'as somethin' in 'is system, you know?" Jean swallowed what he was eating and went on, "He hardly even notices I bring him coffee. He just chugs it down mindlessly, it's like he doesn't even pay attention to food can you believe it? I got him to eat breakfast this one time, but he didn't remember eating it. If somebody doesn't tell him he forgets to eat, it's so weird."

Cricket started on his second donut. "Sometimes Ariel doesn't eat breakfast, but that's because she's on some girly diet or whatever."

Jean chuckled, "Well I can promise you Armin's not on some diet. He literally only eats if you remind him to do it. So anyway, Cricket, I hear you fell asleep while painting that stupid thing for the Professor."

"I fell asleep, huh? Who told you that?"

Jean smirked. "Professor Ackerman when he carried you up here."

"You're joking."

Jean started on another donut. "Nope. He usually locks kids in there if they fall asleep in there, but I guess it was just because he was showing pity to a transfer student or something."

Cricket sighed, "Probably. Well, if morning classes are cancelled what do we do?"

Jean grinned smugly. "The girls were going to play some tennis or volleyball or something, which means they will be in the locker room. Connie and I are going to go snooping. Want to come?"

Cricket laughed, "No thanks. But is that all you two do? Just lurk around the dressing rooms?"

"Basically." Jean finished off the last donut, and tossed the box into their baby trashcan. "It's a shame they give dorms such miniature trashcans. Anyway, if you change your mind, you know where to find us."

"Nah. I'll just go find Ariel. But if you ever act like a pervert around my sister, I'll have to kill you Jean."

Jean opened the door. "Noted." Then left with an eager expression across his face. Cricket brushed his teeth, and then grabbed his backpack. He gripped the doorknob, a thought coming to his mind.

If Professor Ackerman hadn't found him, would he be dead instead of Professor Kane?


	12. Chapter 12

Levi was at his desk, flipping through the files that Reiner had given to him on the twins. Reiner was there too, looking over his shoulder. Levi let out an exhausted sigh. "I can't believe I've never heard of these two. Reiner, tell me, would you have guessed this about the Clouds?"

Reiner shrugged, "Well, from the painting you showed me, yes. I have yet to see Ariel's little projects, however."

Levi looked through some old photos, and rubbed his temples. "I just can't believe Kane was murdered just after I had found Cricket."

"It could have been before." Reiner added.

"Then how did we not notice?" Levi snarled. "We never see him coming! We never do, and because of our carelessness kids have died, and now the killer is moving onto teachers!" Levi tossed some of his sketches onto the floor. "We can't go on like this!"

The door opened, Annie and Armin entering. Annie yawned. "Sorry, I just woke up. My roommate let me sleep due to the cancellation of classes."

Armin nodded, "It's the same for me." He chugged down the rest of his coffee, throwing it in the garbage. "What do you have for us?"

"We still need Ymir." Annie added. "You're a bit slow this morning, Armin."

"How so?"

Annie sighed. "Well for starters you're holding your backpack upside down, and you threw your coffee cup into a plant."

Armin let out an irritated sigh, readjusted his backpack, and disposed of his coffee cup correctly. "Happy?"

"I would be if your hoodie wasn't inside out."

"What?" Armin looked at his sleeves. "No it's not."

Annie smirked. "I was joking that time."

Levi cleared his throat. "If you two are done, we have things to discuss. Where's Ymir?"

Both of them shrugged.

The door opened, and Ymir came prancing in, Lydia following behind her, a little blonde toddler in Lydia's arms. Ymir grinned happily, "Hey, Ackerman! I hope you don't mind, but Lydia wanted to bring Lily!"

Reiner grunted, "We are in the middle of a meeting."

"That's my kid, Reiner. Lydia can bring her in here whenever she wants." Levi snapped. Lydia smiled, and set Lily down on the floor, the little girl rushing to Levi and hugging his leg tightly. Levi smiled slightly, "Hi Lily. Sleep well?"

Lily nodded, and sneezed, rubbing her nose on his pants leg. Lily let go, and started to roam, Ymir picking her up, sitting the girl on her shoulders.

Lydia laughed, "Oh she's always so cute in the mornings I just—oh sorry, Continue, honey."

Armin and Ymir were chuckling, and Levi sighed, opening up the files as Lily began to play with Ymir's ponytail. He flipped the pictures. "Ariel Cloud and Cricket Cloud. Ariel had received many rewards and scholarships for her robotic pieces, and it's the same thing for Cricket with his artwork. Cricket's even got some art in museums."

Annie let out a low whistle, "Impressive."

Levi went on, "Their parents are known to be really wealthy, but that doesn't tell us why they'd send their kids to a boarding school like this when they've gotten scholarships and even prodigy offers for universities."

Armin glanced at the papers. "They've been offered that? Wow, it really doesn't make sense to send them here. That could be why the killer was after Cricket."

"If that's so, will the killer go after Ariel?" Lydia added.

Levi shrugged. "I want to say yes to both, but I don't get why someone would show up here, kill a bunch of students, then suddenly decide he wants an artist for his schemes. What does he want him to do, paint pictures of the bodies?"

Annie and Ymir chuckled, both looking at the floor when Levi glared at them. He grunted, "That wasn't a joke. Anyway, keep an eye on Cricket, and keep an eye on Ariel in case they try to get her too. As to why they specifically wanted Cricket, we can figure that out as we go. Any suggestions or questions?"

"Me, daddy! Pick me!" Lily shot her hand up, and Lydia lifted her from Ymir's shoulders. "Not now sweetie. Levi, I'm taking Lily out. Call me if anything goes on."

Ymir let out a squeal. "Aw, ae you taking Lily out for a day? That's so cute! Why don't we ever do that as sisters Lydia?"

Lydia sighed, "You're twenty five and yell at people, and I have Lily to look after. Since when do you even want to hang out? All I do is drag you to shops."

Ymir let out a groan, and then put an arm around Armin. "What about you, Armin? Why don't you ever hang with me?"

Armin smirked. "The last time I hung out with you, you tried to shave my head."

Ymir looked up at the ceiling, "Good times…wait that wasn't me, that was Lydia. Or was it both of us?"

Lydia laughed, "No, it was both of us. You held him down while I tried to find the scissors. Oh, and there was time we dressed him like a princess!"

Annie and Reiner chuckled as Armin's face went red.

"Oh yeah!" Ymir laughed, "That was great too!"

"It was not!" Armin pouted, "You two were devils…no, you're still devils."

Lydia scoffed, "Please, older sisters are a blessing. Aren't we, Ymir?"

"Totally! Anyone would die to have us as sisters!"

Levi grunted, "Please, I'm surprised Armin hasn't disowned you two gremlins. Lydia, don't you have somewhere to be?"

"Rude. But you're right. The zoo awaits this little tike. Wave by to everyone Lily." Lydia carried Lily, the little girl waving cheerfully as they left the art room. They heard Lydia say hi to somebody, and Erwin barged into the room. "I need to talk to you and your little team, Ackerman."

Levi snorted, "What is it this time? Did we all get up too late?"

"Maybe you did!" Erwin slammed the door shut behind him. "A member of my staff is dead, after all! How about you look into it?"

"Murder." Levi spoke, "It was the killer. There's not much to look into. All we can do is try to find the guy."

Erwin rubbed his temples. "Well, agents, you'd better find the guy before I get ya'll's agency shut down!" He stormed out of the room, once again slamming the door shut behind him. Annie snorted, "Some headmaster. He's just upset about publicity for the school."

"Annie, don't say that." Armin added, "He's worried about the students too."

"He could be." Ymir smirked, "Or maybe, Erwin's the killer!"

Everyone let out a groan, and Levi glared in her direction. "Stop saying that! He isn't the killer! He's paying us! Why would he pay us to get himself arrested?"

Ymir shrugged. "To trick us?"

"No!" Levi plopped into his chair. "Ymir, please, stop shouting random suspects. It's too early for this. All of you, be on guard, and search for anything suspicious. Use this free morning to get any information you can, okay?"

Everyone nodded, Ymir already marching towards the door. "I'll hunt him down if it's the last thing I do, Ackerman!" She mocked a salute, her fist over her heart. "I'll take him down if it kills me!"

Annie followed, shoving her out the door. "Quit being dramatic. Let's go check outside."

Reiner followed them out, muttering under his breath.

"Armin." Levi started. "I want to ask you something."

Armin stopped halfway to the door. "Shoot."

"You don't think Ymir could actually be right, do you?"

"About Erwin?" Armin shrugged. "I highly doubt it's him. If he were the one doing it, then he's doing a pretty good job of looking irritated with each death. Unless he somehow has a grudge against this school, I can't see it being him."

"Thanks."

Armin raised an eyebrow. "Is uh—is that all you wanted?"

"Hmm?"

"Something seems to be on your mind, that's all."

Levi rose from his chair, muttering, "It's Professor Glasses."

"Uh—Professor Zoe?"

"Yeah. That demon." Levi chugged down some coffee from his mug, then started writing on the whiteboard. "You see, that crazy teacher keeps flirting with me, and I keep trying to give off that I'm not interested but she won't leave me alone."

Armin chuckled, "Someone flirts with you?"

Levi grinned wickedly, "Your sister had a kid with me."

"Don't ever talk to me again…bye."

"No, wait. Wait." Levi grabbed his arm. "I mean it. She's been getting even more on my case, and Lydia's noticing. I don't know how to get that lady to leave me alone."

Armin sighed. "Tell her you're engaged to some lady you met on the Internet."

"Will that work?"

"It's worth a try." Armin shook out of Levi's grip. "And if that doesn't work, just say your married."

Levi snorted. "That would blow my cover, genius."

"Not if you do it right. Now anyway, I need to recover from picturing the creation of Lily. Plus I need to go pretend my sister married an actual man. Bye." Armin chuckled as he left, Levi simmering as he stabbed his marker at the whiteboard. "Pretend she married a man…pfft. At least I _have_ somebody…"

Armin could hear Levi rambling from the hallway, and he dug in his backpack for one of his books. He jumped when a hand touched his shoulder. "Sorry." Reiner said. "Can I talk to you?"

The book would have to wait.

"Yeah." Armin slid his book back into his bag. "What's the problem?"

"Levi."

"What? Levi?" Armin snorted. "What do you have against Levi? I mean he's an annoying in-law to me, but what is it with you?"

"Nothing. He's a great agent, but I don't think we get enough done in those meetings. I have an idea on how we can find this guy, but I need to discuss it. Can you come to the library with me?"

"Uh—sure. But Reiner?"

"What?"

Armin sighed, "Why can't you just discuss this with Levi? He's in charge of this mission, you might as well tell him. In fact, you should have brought it up."

"Armin, a teacher was murdered, and everyone is already on edge. Besides, you're the actual boss, right?"

"Yeah…" Armin shifted uncomfortably, "But…I don't really…"

"You think you're not ready?"

"Well, it was kind of sprung on me…"

Reiner punched him on the arm gently. "Come on, you're doing fine. And I _will_ tell Levi and the others. I just want a second opinion to make sure it doesn't sound stupid and dangerous. You can even help me revise it."

Armin shrugged. "Fine, I guess it can't hurt. Let's go."


	13. Chapter 13

"Oh wow, Ariel, you built this?" Christa squealed, pressing the voice box and hearing the bark. "It's adorable!"

Christa and Ariel were sitting on a bench in the courtyard, Cricket sitting in the ground nearby, mumbling as he tried to finish some last minute math.

"Thanks." Ariel said, putting the voice box back into her bag. "I was going to show you straight after class, but I guess I forgot. Plus you weren't in the dorm until later."

"Oh that." Christa smiled. "I was taking a test. I missed one. You either take them in the morning or in the evening, and if I don't get enough sleep…" Christa chuckled, "I look like Chewbacca. So, Cricket, what all have you done in the art class?"

Cricket sighed, "Well for starters I got in trouble and had to paint a whole painting. I think I could've done it better, but…" Cricket started doodling over his math homework, a glum look on his face. "I just don't want a bad grade because of stupid paint on the floor."

"Yeah, Professor Ackerman is pretty tough I heard. I'm not much of a painter, so I took Home Ec!" Christa perked up once she brought it up, a dreamy expression across her face. "Oh, I just love cooking. My favorite thing to make is cupcakes. I'll bring some at lunch next time I make some."

Ariel grinned. "That would be awesome! Dude, Cricket, she let me try some of her cookies yesterday, and they were amazing! We'll definitely try your cupcakes! So Cricket, where are the boys?"

Cricket grunted, "Their just lurking around being perverts. Connie and Jean, I mean. Armin kind of just sped off and I haven't seen him since. It's like he's this little rocket that just flies off. I don't even know why he's always in such a hurry to get places."

Christa chuckled. "Yeah, I've noticed him to be like that."

"Jean says he forgets to eat sometimes." Cricket added.

"Oh yeah." Christa had started braiding her hair. "He likes to read books at lunch, so he'll forget to eat most of it. Did you notice that yesterday?"

Cricket shrugged. "No, I was too busy trying not to get attacked by food. Connie and Eren were throwing food at each other across the cafeteria. That guy gets on my nerves."

"Oh, Eren?" Christa shrugged. "I always have pleasant conversations with him."

"Pleasant?" Cricket scoffed. "He pushed me. But I assume in the language Jaeger it means a friendly hello."

"Oh Cricket, he just gets a little temperamental sometimes." Christa started to ponytail her braid. "But it may just be because Mikasa thinks you're cute."

Cricket spluttered, "W—what now?"

Ariel nodded. "Yeah, I heard her. She made a comment about you looking mature or something and something about adorable and Eren got upset about it."

"Anybody would be upset if their fiancé thought someone else was cute…" Cricket grumbled, "So, she thinks I'm cute? Ariel, I don't want to get killed due to a crush!"

Ariel giggled, "No. Don't worry. It's not like that. She just thought you were a nice looking boy, like someone cool to talk to or something."

"Eren took it the wrong way and now he's out to get you." Christa added. "As long as you know how to run from his clan of beefy third years, you'll be just fine."

"Great…" Cricket rolled his eyes, and went on doodling. "Maybe I can just cut off my arm and I'll turn into a giant or some Titan thing that can step on them."

"That sure would be something, wouldn't it?" A voice joined in. Cricket jumped at the sound, his pencil breaking as he accidently stabbed it into the paper. Cricket turned around to see a tall boy with dark hair. He looked like a third year.

But dang, he was tall.

Christa smiled, "Oh hi Berdholt! What's up?"

"Oh, not much, Christa. I was looking for Reiner, actually, but I can't find him."

"Oh really?" Christa smirked, "Because you've been looking in this direction for quite some time now."

Berdholt blushed slightly, "Oh…you caught onto that? Al right fine I uh—I came to talk to Ariel, actually."

Ariel blushed. "Oh…really?"

"Yeah…" He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "I wanted to see if you uh—wanted to hang out sometime, maybe this weekend?"

"Oh sure! Sure…Yeah that should be fine." Ariel's face was red.

Berdholt was staring at the ground, but nodded. "Okay, well uh—I'll see you in robotics then…" he waved, and scurried off in another direction, Christa in a fit of laughter. "Oh, Ariel! He likes you!"

Ariel's cheeks were scarlet. "Stop that, Christa! He does not…"

"He does."

Cricket let out a groan. "He's a third year, Ariel…"

"Oh Cricket," Ariel pouted, "Don't be a worry wart. He's perfectly safe."

"Uh huh." Cricket pushed his glasses into place. "Tell that to Connie and Jean."

"Berdholt's different." Christa started, "A lot of girls actually really like him he's just shy. So him coming to talk to you means he really wants to get to know you."

"Not too well, for his sake." Cricket snorted. "I don't like older boys talking to you, even if they are _shy._ "

Ariel sighed, "He's not like the ones from the other schools Cricket, I think I can pick out boys just fine."

"Uh huh. Sure. Remember Greg?"

"Uh…"

"And Steven…" Cricket shuddered, "Why did you hate him again? Oh yeah, he cheated on you!"

"Okay! Okay…"

"We're fourteen." Cricket scoffed. "We're like babies. Why do people our age even need to date anyway…"

Ariel rolled her eyes. "Sorry about him Christa."

"No, it's fine. I'm only fifteen but…hey, I try to have fun too. But…with all these deaths I don't know how long my parents will be able to keep their cool. They've tried to take me out twice already."

"Seriously?" Ariel's eyes were wide. "How'd you convince them to let you stay?"

"Easy, I told them about Ymir, and I always make sure to walk with a friend rather than by myself. That always calms them down but…but they may freak out when they hear the killer's moved onto teachers too."

"Anyone would." Cricket blew away his eraser shavings. "To be honest, I'm surprised this school still has students. If I were a parent, I'd have this school evacuated. Who knows how many kids have seen the guy. There could be some that have escaped him, and are just afraid to…talk about it…"

Ariel raised an eyebrow. "Cricket?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you okay?"

Cricket erased half of his drawing. _"Peachy."_


	14. Chapter 14

Thanks to the cancellation of classes, most of the teachers had gone off to discuss things either in the teacher's lounge, or with the headmaster. This gave Annie and Ymir the perfect opportunity to check out the scene of the murder. Annie snorted in disgust at the floor of the classroom. "You'd think after the body stained the classroom with blood they'd clean it up, but no, let's leave the evidence."

Ymir smirked, hopping onto the desk. "You think this school wants to do that? Nah, they'd take pictures just to get some type of insurance for all these deaths."

"Don't talk like that. We're here to look for clues. The staff isn't my concern, unless of course one of them is the murderer." Annie grunted at the sight of the bloodstains a final time. "How did the killer even murder him again?"

Ymir bit into an apple that had been left on Professor Kane's desk. "Who knows? 'Aybe they strangled him."

Annie slapped the apple out of her hand. "Or he was poisoned. Spit that out."

Ymir spit out her chewed up apple pieces onto the floor, "Oh great, now they're going to find my DNA on the apples and think I killed him."

"Burn them."

"What?"

Annie sighed, "Never mind…" She bent down, picking up the apple, and shoved the chewed up pieces into her pocket. "Remind me to make you pay for my dry cleaning, Ymir."

Ymir crossed her arms in a pout. "You're the one who told me to spit it out. You didn't have to pick it up."

Annie rolled her eyes. "Don't you have another room to check?"

Ymir perked up. "I do, actually! Catch you later my dear short blonde companion." Ymir leapt off the desk, bolting out of the room with an excited grin.

Annie rubbed her hands on her pants leg. "And to think she's older than me…" Annie pulled out her cell phone, dialing a number, then placing the phone to her ear. "You'd better pick up this time…" She mumbled.

The phone rang a few second, and then a man's voice spoke on the other end. "Hey! Annie! It's been awhile since you called me, babe!"

"I called you this morning. I even tried last night, but you didn't pick up."

"Oh really?" It sounded like mock surprise. "I guess I've been pretty busy with work. How's that mission of yours?"

"It's fine if you like staring at blood stains across the walls."

There was a nervous chuckle on his end, and he cleared his throat. "Uh—Annie, actually, I've been avoiding your calls, to be honest."

 _No duh._ Annie faked surprise. "What? Why?"

"Well uh…"

She felt her muscles tense when she heard another voice in the background, _"Danny sweetie, where do you keep those wine bottles again?"_

Annie snarled into the phone, _"Is—is that a girl in there?!"_

Danny chuckled fearfully, "Oh. That. She…"

Annie's anger rose when she heard the high-pitched monster again, _"Oh, who's on the phone? Is that your cousin?! Hi Annie, it's me Daisy!"_

Danny laughed, "Yeah, yeah, it's my uh—hey go uh—Daisy please, I'm on the phone…okay yeah…"

Annie heard the girl's voice fade away, indicating she had trotted off somewhere. Annie gripped her phone tightly, "I didn't know we were cousins, _Danny…"_

"Listen, babe, I'm sorry. But I—I've been meaning to tell ya…I don't think I can date a secret agent, the distance is driving me crazy I—I need a girl I'll see. I never see you I—what I mean to say is the engagement's off, Annie."

"Uh huh." Annie bit her lip.

"Try to understand."

 _"_ _Understand?!"_ Annie didn't care if she was pacing over fresh blood. She had to move in some way or end up crushing her phone. "You could have broken up with me, but no, you had to cheat on me to get out of it! I can't believe I didn't see this coming! You're just like all those other losers that lied to me. And worst of all, I really did love you, you stupid jerk!"

"Now, Annie…we had fun, right?"

 _"_ _Fun?! So I was just fun to you?!"_

"Look, sweetie…"

 _"_ _Don't call me sweetie, you Daisy picking cheating Ass."_ Annie ended the call, tossing her phone across the room. She wanted to punch one of the desks or throw it but that would either blow her cover or cause suspicion.

She glared in disgust at the bloodstains from Kane. _"It's a shame mister flower man can't join you in hell…wasted a whole two years with that creep…"_

Annie snatched her phone off the floor, shoving it angrily into her pocket. She felt her eyes watering, and cursed mentally. _"You're not going to cry over a stupid man like that, you wimp."_ She punched a locker on her way down the hall, a first year jumping with fright at the sight of it. She felt her phone buzzing, and angrily pulled it out of her pocket. If it was Danny—no—it was Levi. She took a breath, and answered. "What?"

"Well don't you sound cheerful."

"Shut up, midget. Just tell me what you want."

Levi snorted. "Especially cheerful…I was going to ask if you found anything."

"No." Annie hung up the phone, and shoved it back into her pocket. It buzzed again, but she ignored it.

She clenched her fists, and continued with the investigation.


	15. Chapter 15

"Jean, are they in there?" Connie whispered from his position behind the bush.

Jean pushed some brush out of the way, and put his binoculars over his eyes. "Hmm…they don't seem to be in there…it looks empty."

Connie let out a groan. "Don't tell me we were too late!"

"Relax my little friend." Jean set his binoculars in the grass. "Let's head inside. Maybe we can sneak a glance from the window without being seen."

Connie's eyes widened, "That's risky Jean." He rubbed his hands together, a wicked grin spread across his face. "But Connie like. Let's go."

They both crawled out on hands and knees, scrambling up from the ground and scurrying towards the windows to the locker room. Jean looked up, a grin on his face. "There's the window. It's high up, but we can do this. Hop on my shoulders Connie."

"Sweet." Connie climbed onto Jean, him standing on Jean's shoulders as he peered into the window. "What do you see, Connie?"

Connie let out a yelp of surprise. "Jean! The girls aren't in there, we missed them!"

"Missed them?! I'm holding you for nothing?"

Connie chuckled, "Admit it, you like it."

"Shut up half-pint. If they aren't in there then…are they already in the gym?"

"Well, well, who do we have here…"

Jean and Connie both jumped at the sound of the voice, Connie wobbling and crashing down on top of Jean. Both boys rose from the ground, Sasha and Mikasa standing directly across from them. They were in their gym uniforms, both of them with anger in their eyes. Sasha crossed her arms. "Trying to look in on us again, are ya?"

Connie squeaked, "Uh—it was Jean's idea?"

"Connie!" Jean gripped the shorter boy by the collar. "Why would you sell me out like that?!"

"Dude, I don't want to die!"

Sasha snarled, "Oh, you'll both die once we get out hands on you!" She bit into a granola bar, and tossed the remains, the snack hitting Jean in the face.

Mikasa chuckled darkly, bouncing a dodge ball in her hand. "Now, now, Sasha. Let's not get too excited. Why don't we let them play with us?"

A dark expression spread across Sasha's face, a dodge ball in each hand. "I agree, Mikasa."

"Connie, run!"

Both boys bolted towards the dorms, Connie letting out a fearful scream as a dodge ball struck him in the back. Jean turned, letting out what sounded like a pained neigh as a dodge ball struck him in the face. More dodge balls came at them as they ranf or their lives, Connie screaming, _"Where did they get all these balls?!"_

 _"_ _From the previous victims!"_ Jean wailed, _"Run faster Connie!"_

Connie panted, struggling to keep up with Jean, "J—Jean, my little legs can only run so quickly!"

"You have to believe, Connie! Run you pathetic midget! Run!"

A final dodge ball flew past them, the girls yelling things they couldn't make out. It looked as if they had gone back for more ammunition. Jean took this opportunity and grabbed Connie, dragging him into a bush. Luckily, they heard the girls run by. Jean and Connie were both panting, Jean wiping sweat away from his forehead. Connie whimpered, "I've never been so scared in my life."

"Same…but Mikasa looks so cute running like that."

"So does Sasha…" Connie mused. "But they're in the mood to kill us. What do we do now?"

"We need to hide. Quick, to the dorms, we can jump in some random room where they can't locate us. Let's go." Jean leapt out of the bushes, signaling to Connie that the coast was clear. "Let's move quickly."

They fled to the boy's dorms, Connie panting as he followed Jean up the stairs. Jean pointed at a dorm room with the door slightly ajar. "There! Let's go!"

Connie bolted after Jean, following him inside. Jean slammed the door shut, both of them leaning against it, panting. Connie was hunched over, his hands on his knees. "I've never run so fast. Who's room are we even in?"

"Mine." A familiar voice said.

Jean let out a curse, then grumbled, "Oh come on! Connie, it's Jaeger."

Eren was sitting on his bed, homework papers all over the place.

"What?!" Connie laughed, "What Irony! It's like someone's writing a fan fiction or something, you know?"

"Shut up Connie!" Jean glared in Eren's direction. "You! We were never here!"

"Never here, huh?" Eren got off his bed and tossed some homework papers into the trash. "Just get out of my room, horse face!"

"Fine!" Jean gripped the doorknob, a fearful expression on Connie's face. "Wait, Jean! It's not safe! Mikasa and Sasha!"

"I'd rather face them then stay in here!"

Connie scoffed. "You and I both know you're lying. Mikasa would kill us, then Sasha would eat us…"

"Hiding from the girls huh?" Eren smirked, "What did you idiots do?"

"We're not idiots!" Jean snarled.

Connie sighed, "We uh—tried to watch them change clothes in the locker room but we miserably failed at it. You uh—won't tell them we're in here will you?"

"He probably will." Jean grunted.

"I won't." Eren started, "On one condition."

"A condition?!" Jean let out a groan. "What kind of condition?"

Eren sighed, "I want you guys to help me with my reputation."

Connie raised an eyebrow. "Say that again?"

Eren grumbled, "My reputation…I want to uh—what's it called?"

Connie smirked, "Are you saying you want to learn how to be nice to people?"

Jean's eyes widened, "No way! You? Be nice?" Jean burst into laughter, Connie giving him a glare. "Shut up Jean, you're so heartless." Connie trotted over towards Eren, putting his arm around him. "You want to learn how to be approachable do ya? Well, you've come to the right place, my newfound friend. I'll teach you."

Jean spluttered through laughter. "You—you're agreeing to this?! Connie, you can't be serious! He's a jerk."

Eren shrugged, "I'm no worse than you. Besides, I don't want Mikasa to have to apologize for me all the time."

Jean snorted, "What about your Titan buddies? Won't they be offended if you start hanging with a new crew or something like that?"

Eren rolled his eyes. "I don't even talk to those guys. They saw me push a first year down and thought I was some savior. They never leave me alone."

"That doesn't explain why you've been rude to other people." Connie added.

"I have eight older brothers. It's the only way I really know how to communicate." Eren shrugged, "Plus it helps me relieve stress. You'd be angry all the time too if your parents sent you off to a boarding school without so much as a goodbye."

Connie shrugged, "Yeah…mine kind of shipped me off too."

"Besides, I don't want to leave this school with people hating my guts." Eren added.

"Too late." Jean smirked.

Connie grinned smugly. "Well, well, Mister Jaeger, stick with me and I'll get you all the good publicity you'll need to please Mikasa, and to gain some little friends that never even say the word _Titan._ And in exchange, you keep Mikasa from killing us." Connie held out his hand. "Do we have a deal?"

Eren shook his hand. "Deal."

Jean let out a sigh, "This looks like a deal with the devil."

"Oh, so I'm a devil, huh?" Eren huffed.

"I was talking about Connie…" Jean smirked, "But I'll bet both of you ten bucks that somebody will punch Jaeger in the face before the week is over."

Connie rubbed his hands together, "Ten bucks, huh? How about twenty?"

"Deal. If you can't get somebody to befriend Jaeger, I get forty dollars."

"Fine." Connie snapped his fingers. "And I know just who to start with. Armin!"

"Armin?" Jean chuckled, "Last time I checked Jaeger pushed him. And besides, Eren's goons bother him enough to where he might not even want to talk to Jaeger."

"Yeah, but Armin's nicer than most people. And if he can't let bygones be bygones than Eren here is hopeless."

Jean smirked. "I'm just anxious for my forty dollars. Do you think it's safe out there now?"

Eren shook his head. "Mikasa probably saw you enter the building and is waiting outside. If you go out now, you're as good as dead. Take this as my first _friendly_ gesture."

"Great." Jean sighed, sitting down on the floor. "So now what do we do?"

"We could do prank calls? I managed to get Professor Ackerman's number on my cell."

Eren and Jean both looked at him wide eyed, "How?"

Connie winked, "I know a guy…who knew a guy…who knew this hot chi who…"

"Forget we asked." Jean snorted. "Do it. Call him. Do it."

Connie put the phone on speaker, and dialed the number. "Eren, take this as your first lesson in a social activity." He set the phone on the floor, Levi's voice answering, "Hello? Who is this?"

Connie nudged Eren in the arm. "Talk to him."

"Uh…" Eren cleared his throat, imitating a burly man's voice. "Hello, Levi."

Levi sighed irritably, "If this is that sketchy lady from the dry cleaners with the deep voice, I told you, delete my number form your phone. I'm not interested."

Connie covered his mouth as he burst into laughter, Jean snickering in the corner. Erne struggled to keep a straight face. "But—but your short little self is all I can—I can think about."

"Lady, you need to…is that laughter? _Who the hell is laughing in the background?!"_

Jean scrambled to the phone, making his voice higher, "Hello, this is—this is Miss Prim from the dry cleaners. I believe my employee was harassing you? Did she grab your buttocks, sir? She claims it is firm."

Eren craoked into the phone, _"So very firm, sir. Please return."_

Connie was on the floor, trying to conceal his laughter. Levi shouted into the phone, _"You immature brats! Kirschtein and Jaeger, is that you?!"_

"Abort mission..." Jean whispered, "Abort. Abort. Connie, get the phone."

"Oh, so Springer's in on it, huh? _I will find you, and I will have you paint the roof. As for Springer I'll have Scotty shove you into an animatronic!"_

"Shut the phone!" Jean cried. Connie ended the call, all three of them lying on the floor laughing. Jean chuckled, "N—not bad, Jaeger, I never really noticed how much he was out to get you."

"Well, not abd y—yourself, Horse face…"

"Ha! I told you…he could be sociable…" Connie panted, "B—but he knows it was us…"

"We're going to die…" Jean chuckled, "I'm scared, but I'm still laughing."

Connie's laugh turned into a snort. "Man, I tell ya, these prank calls get me every time."


	16. Chapter 16

"Okay…" Armin sat across from Reiner at one of the tables in the library. "What was your idea?" He whispered.

Reiner looked around the library to make sure no one was in earshot, then spoke, "I was thinking of a way we could uh—lure the killer out."

"Lure? Like use bait?"

Reiner nodded. "Yeah, we could use bait."

Armin raised an eyebrow. "Do you mean, use one of us?"

"Uh—not exactly." Reiner sighed, "This is where it gets a bit risky. He tried to abduct that Cricket kid, right?"

"Yeah."

Reiner looked at the ground. "Well…uh…"

Armin's eyes widened, "Are you saying we use Cricket as bait?! Reiner!"

"Shh! Armin. But—yeah…that's what I'm saying…"

Armin rubbed his temples, "Reiner, we can't just endanger a student like that! That's…"

Reiner felt a little panicked when a few students looked in their direction. "You're being a bit loud, aren't you?"

"Of course I'm being loud…the idea freaks me out! We can't just.."

"First of all, calm down. Second of all, just think about it. Maybe we could reveal ourselves? We could take turns keeping an eye on the kid, but make it look like he's alone so the killer will show up, you know?"

Armin sighed, "I just—tell him who we really are? Reiner, that's insane…but…" Armin gave a slight nod. "It's actually an intriguing strategy now that I think about it…"

"You like the idea?"

Armin shrugged. "I don't like the idea of using Cricket as bait but—but it does seem like the only possible successful option at this point."

Reiner grinned, "I figured you'd side with me on it. Is it a go?"

"You forget," Armin started, "Levi's in charge for this. I'd have to talk to him first."

Reiner sighed in annoyance. "Right. I forgot. But with the interaction he had with the kid, he may not like it. You?"

"Cricket's my roommate, Reiner, and he's cool to talk to. I don't want him hurt."

"He won't be. As I said, we take turns watching him. Eventually the killer is bound to try and get him again anyway. Wouldn't it be easier to let the kid know he doesn't need to freak out about it?"

Armin frowned. "He did look a little paranoid today, from what I saw of him anyway. I haven't seen much of him today, but Annie spotted him and said he looked a little spooked on our way to the meeting."

Several students began to file out of the library, Reiner looking at his watch. "We'll miss lunch if we don't go now."

"You go ahead, I'll try to call Levi."

"You sure? Annie says you forget to eat sometimes."

Armin smirked. "What? I do not. Just go on. I'll call Levi and see what he thinks, if anything, it will give him time to think about it before the next meeting."

"Thanks. And thanks for hearing me out. I'd better go before Berdholt thinks I ditched him. Later." He followed the rest of the students out of the library, Armin picking up his backpack and going towards another section of the library. He pulled out his phone, and called Levi's cell.

Levi's voice shouted, _"If this is another prank call…"_

"Levi?"

"Oh, Armin!" Levi cleared his throat. "Uh—found anything?"

"What was that about a prank call?"

"Nothing. Ignore it. Have you found anything?"

Armin sighed, "Well…no. But Reiner had an idea he wanted me to ask you about."

"What? Why didn't he say it during the meeting?"

"He wanted a second opinion. Anyway…here's the deal…"

Armin explained the idea to Levi, who answered with a round of curses and possible consequences. Levi yelled into his ear, _"What kind of idea is that?! It could get the kid killed! We can't do that! You're crazy to even side with an idea like that!"_

"But Levi, it could really save a lot of people!"

Armin heard Levi let out an inhuman groan, and he replied with malice, _  
"Fine. I'll consider it. But don't think that means I'll change my mind."_

The call ended, and Armin sighed in relief.

Good thing that was over with.

Armin shoved his cell phone back into his pocket. He let out a yelp when someone grabbed him by the arm and yanked him back. He gave an irritated sigh when he saw one of those _Titans._ He never knew any of their names, just that they were all bulky third years with nothing better to do. The other two were there also, grinning down at him with amusement.

The one that had him spoke, "Well, well, if it isn't Armin Arlert. Came to read all by yourself, huh?"

The other two snickered, and Armin rolled his eyes. "Yeah…sure. I came to read. Now if you don't mind, I'm on my way to lunch."

"Are you?"

Armin winced when he was punched in the abdomen, the other two laughing hysterically, ripping away his backpack and tossing it across the room. "I sure hope you didn't have anything important in there." One of them snarled.

"Nothing at all…" Armin groaned.

 _Stay Calm. Stay Calm._

Armin was slammed against the wall, the leader gripping him by the collar. "You know, Arlert, we don't really like the way you talk to out boy Eren, you know?"

 _Oh great. It all went back to Eren Jaeger._

 _It always did._

"I don't talk to him…" Armin choked, "Now leave—me alone…"

"Afraid we're going to hurt you? Are you going to cry?"

 _Armin, don't kill them._

 _Stay calm, they're just kids._

"You only beat kids up—to feel better about yourselves…" Armin spat.

Armin yelped when he slammed into the wall a second time. "Shut up, runt! You're lucky I don't twist your head off."

"And now you're throwing a fit— _because you know I'm right."_

The leader punched him the abdomen again, a chuckle form his lips. "I don't need to feel better about myself, when I'm already on top."

Armin let out an angry sigh, his hands shaking from impatience. "You know… _Titans…_ one of these days your walls are going to come crashing down. I'm on my last…nerve…with you…"

"Last nerve?! Why you little…"

Armin grunted when he was punched a few more times, and then kicked in the leg, the leader grinning, "Too much for you? You see that boys? I think he's going to cry. I think little Armin Arlert is go—oh—shhiiitt!" The leader let out a confused scream as Armin kicked him in the jaw, flipping him. The leader crashed into one of the tables as he flew across the room.

The other two backed away slightly horrified, Armin giving a wicked chuckle, _"So which one of you Titans is next?"_


	17. Chapter 17

Erwin chugged down his mug of coffee, rubbing his temples as he stormed towards his office. He hadn't wanted to cancel classes, but with the blood in the hallway and in Kane's classroom, there was no telling where the killer was exactly. With a teacher dead, the killer could be in any of his classrooms, or even in the dorms for that matter. Out in the hall Sasha Blouse and Mikasa Ackermna had intercepted him.

Lucky for him the girls were only complaining about Springer and Kirschtein peeping around again, rather than another death happening. He let out an annoyed grunt.

Now he had to remember to give those kids detention.

He returned from his thoughts when his Secretary, Amy Neill, jumped in front of him. She was so small he almost ran into her. Her pleading voice and red hair caught his attention, "Sir! Sir, another parent has requested to talk to you! In fact uh—there's a few on hold."

"They already know of Professor Kane's death then?" He grunted.

"Yes sir…"

"Tch. Tell them I was killed too."

"Sir!" Amy scolded.

Erwin sighed, "Sorry—I didn't mean that. Tell all of them we have everything under control and that their kids are perfectly safe."

Amy crossed her arms. "So you want me to lie to more parents?"

"It's not lying. We—we have those agents, Amy, that's why I hired them."

"And what have they done that's helpful?! All they've done for the past few months is make this situation worse!" Amy snapped, "I will not— _will not—_ tell those parents that their kids are safe when they most certainly are not!"

Erwin was surprised. "Amy…"

Her eyes widened at her own outburst. Her face reddened, "Sorry Sir. I'm just—I'm just worried…"

Erwin noticed her solemn expression. "It's fine. Just—Just tell them everything is under control. Okay?"

Amy nodded, composing herself. "I can do that—and also uh—Professor Zoe is in your office."

Erwin raised an eyebrow. "Zoe? Now?"

"Y—yes, Sir."

Erwin gave a repulsed grunt. "That woman is always asking me for that Anatomy class—even in times like this all she wants to do is dissect something! Next thing you know, she's going to try to dissect people! Amy, handle the calls. I'll go deal with Zoe."

"Yes Sir." Amy shuddered, "Good luck in there."

Erwin responded with a reluctant groan as he stepped into his office. He jumped a bit to find Professor Hanji Zoe sitting on his desk and toying with one of his fountain pens. "Headmaster!" She beamed, "How are things?"

"Hanji…you shouldn't be in here."

Hanji snorted, tossing the fountain pen onto the floor. "Huh. That's what you said when you ended our relationship, wasn't it?"

"Hanji…"

"It's fine, _Erwin."_ She cooed, "I now prefer people with _smaller_ expectations."

Erwin sighed, "I already told you why I ended our relationship. We don't need to get into this. If you're here to plea for the Anatomy class again, I won't have it. Professor Petra Ral has everything taken care of." Erwin brushed past her, dropping some books down onto his desk. "I'd appreciate it if you climbed off my desk, Professor."

Hanji hopped off the desk, an amused grin spread across her face. "I remember when you used to like me sitting on your desk, _Headmaster."_ She crept behind him as he sat at his desk, her arms wrapping around him in an embrace.

Erwin sighed impatiently, trying to flip through files on his desk. "Hange, I mean it, go back to you classroom. I'm busy trying to keep the school in order, and you're here trying to cuddle me. There's been a death for crying out loud. "

"A death for who? Kane?" She chuckled, "It's not much of a surprise with him putting kids to sleep the way he does—I mean, _did."_

"Hanji, you don't mean that…"

"I'll mean what I want. And I mean it when I say _I'm missing you."_

Erwin felt her kiss his cheek, and he shook out of her grasp. " _Proffessor Zoe,_ just go back to your classroom, or practice throwing pencils at kids or whatever it is you do."

Hanji lurked away from his desk, a pout on her face. "I wouldn't have to throw pencils at kids if I could stab dead animals."

"That's exactly why you can't have that class. With the background you have…"

 _"_ _What do you mean with the background I have?"_ Hanji snorted, "I see. That must have been why you dumped me too, huh?"

"Hanji, try to be serious."

"Why don't you try to be more open-minded? I wouldn't be surprised if you were the next one killed!"

Erwin's eyes widened, and he rose from the seat at his desk. "Professor Zoe, I suggest you not comment about these deaths, get out of my office, and throw your blasted pencils at the wall!"

"I could throw them at your face."

 _"_ _Zoe! I'll fire you if I have to."_

Hanji chuckled darkly, "You can't fire me. You wouldn't dare. If you let me go the parents will throw a fit. Why fire a teacher when ones been murdered?" Hanji grinned devilishly, "Unless, it's because I know something you don't want the rest of the school to know? If you fire me, I'll make sure they know about your little…"

 _"_ _Get out of my office!"_

"Fine…" Hanji cooed, "I'll get out. Just don't forget. I still like taking late night walks, _Headmaster."_ Hanji flung the door open, gliding past Amy as she left the office.

Amy entered, shuddering, "Headmaster, why was she smiling like that?"

Erwin realized his fists were clenched, and he took a breath to compose himself. "Nothing. Amy, what is it?"

"I got a call from a staff member. There was a brawl in the library—something to do with those Titan boys? I didn't get much detail, just that some of the tables were smashed and the librarian had to throw some books at them."

Erwin grabbed the files he had been gazing over and shoved them into one of his desk drawers. "You'd think after a teacher's death these students would act a little more respectfully!"

"Zoe put you in a bad mood, didn't she?" Amy sighed.

"I was in a mood beforehand, but you're damn right about her igniting it." Erwin brushed past her, Amy following behind him as he stormed out into the hallway. "Who did those thugs even pick a fight with anyway?"

"Uh…the librarian didn't really say. Would you like me to accompany you, sir?"

"No, I'll handle the punk myself. If I know anything, it was probably them beating on that paint-eating kid, or Jaeger screaming about his art class that set them on the prowl. Go tend to the calls, I'll go to the library."

Amy nodded, scurrying back into the office.

Erwin stormed through the hallways, heading for the library.

 _Who would be stupid enough to try and actually fight those guys?_

Erwin charged into the library, the librarian scurrying out from behind her desk. She was a small elderly woman, her glasses green-colored, and her white hair tied into a tight bun. She glared up at Erwin furiously, "Those hoodlums wrecked my library!" She pointed, Erwin wincing at the sight of smashes tables, and some books scattered across the room.

There was even a slight hole in the wall.

"Uh—Mrs. Gripe, where are the Titan boys?"

Mrs. Gripe huffed, "I sent them to the infirmary, but low and behold, the nurse wasn't even there!"

"She's on a day off, Mrs. Gripe."

"Of course she is!" Mrs. Gripe bellowed, "So I sent them off to a walk-in clinic, the big thugs. I have the other one in my office. In my opinion, he's the one that needs a stern talking to!"

"Hmm? The Titans didn't start the fight?"

"Heh." Mrs. Gripe pushed her glasses into place. "Oh, they started it, but they sure as heck didn't get to finish it. Those goons were road kill by the time that other kid stood up to them."

Erwin was surprised. "The Titans lost the fight, you say?"

Mrs. Gripe chuckled, "They were lucky they weren't thrown out the window. Those Titan boys were bloodied and bruised by the time I sent them off. I've got to say it all went plumb insane. I'll admit, I got a kick out of it at first, with them Titans being taught a lesson and all, but once they started trashing my precious library, I sprung all of hell's fire at them kiddos! I threw my largest volumes, of course."

"Of course uh—Mrs. Gripe? May I see this other student?"

"Oh. Right." Mrs. Gripe sighed, "Yeah, he's in my office. You just go pop on in there and set him straight while I try to not scream out my lungs!" She started hacking, and launched some spit into the trashcan. "Dang it, I'm so angry I've gotten Flemish!" She rolled her eyes, mumbling as she stormed into the sea of bookshelves. Erwin watched as she yelled at a student for eating food in front of the computers.

He rubbed his temples, and entered her office. "Alright, so I hear you got into a fight with…" Erwin's eyes widened when he saw who was in the room. _"Arlert?!"_

Armin jumped, nearly knocking over some bobble heads that Mrs. Gripe kept on her desk. Erwin's look of surprise remained. "Y—you beat up the Titans?"

"Uh…" Armin's face turned a shade of red, "Yeah—kinda…I mean…I didn't really uh—mean to?"

"So you did?!"

"It was self-defense, sir." Armin bit his lip.

"It's not self-defense when you almost kill them! Mrs. Gripe said they were beaten to a pulp." Erwin let out a groan, "You've got to be kidding me. You're not even a real student! You—I mean, even if I came in here and found an agent like I just did, I would have expected Braun, or—or Leanhardt or—but you?! I thought you were the sane one! The more def—careful—one."

Armin snorted, "You were going to say defenseless. See, that's the reason I beat those brats up. They've been picking on me since day one because I'm much smaller than them. I don't tolerate bullies, and I don't tolerate being treated like I'm defenseless, _Headmaster._ I've been holding it in for months now, trying not to strangle those kids, and you're lucky I went easy on them."

Erwin's face twisted into rage. "Easy?! Easy?! You're all such damned agents! There was blood on the floor and—and is that blood in your hair?!"

Armin shrugged, "Maybe. If there is, it's not mine. I'm sorry things got out of hand, but I'm not sorry for fighting them."

Erwin's fists were clenched, "So because you're some high class agent you think you can beat up my students?"

Armin glared, "I didn't say that. You just want to believe that. I said they've been antagonizing me, and I admit my anger got carried away. That's all I have to say about it."

"You beat up students! Don't you understand that?!"

"Of course I do!" Armin frowned, "I didn't want to…they just—I don't know…"

"You agents are all the same. Jerks."

"That's a bit harsh, don't you think?"

"Not after you beat up Innocent kids." Erwin scoffed.

"Innocent?! Well, they aren't killers, but you can't deny how violent they are." A bit of blood dripped down Armin's head, and he winced, "You know, now that I think about it, this blood might actually be mine."

Erwin sighed, "And the blood on your sleeve?"

"No, that's somebody else's…"

"My patience no longer exists, Arlert." Erwin rubbed his temples, "I want you to apologize to those kids, and then get out of this school…I won't tolerate some stupid agent kids behavior."

Armin's eyes widened, "Did you call me stupid?! And to get out?! Sir, you have to understand that they—You can't take me out I—"Armin yelped when Erwin grabbed his arm, dragging him out of the office. _"We're going to my office, and I'm calling Ackerman. We'll see his take on it. I bet your short little boss will agree with me, Arlert."_

But Levi wasn't the Boss.

Armin tried to pull away, "But sir he's not—hey!"

Erwin jerked him forward, "Stop talking and move it, you little punk. This is the last straw! You agents are done!

Levi was going to kill him!

Armin squirmed in Erwin's grip; panic setting in. _"But—you can't do that! We-"_

 _"_ _I'm the Headmaster._ Fight me, kid."

Armin winced when Erwin pushed him into his office. Erwin slammed the door shut, Amy letting out a little shriek from her desk out front. Erwin stormed to his desk, picking up his desk phone. "I'm calling that runt of a boss myself."

"Sir, he can't do anything! He's not…"

"He's not what?!" Erwin was gripping the phone tightly, his knuckles white.

Armin shrank back, looking at the floor. "N—nothing…just call him…"

Erwin punched on the numbers, mumbling as he put the phone to his ear. "What kind of boss just let's his agents beat kids up like that?!"

Armin bit his lip and just stared at the floor, Erwin breathing out curse words as the phone continued to buzz. Erwin mumbled, slamming his phone down. "That runt…he always ignores my calls. Always! I always have to hobble down to his pathetic Art class!"

Armin held out his phone nervously. "Uh—you could try mine?"

Erwin snatched the phone from him, giving him a grunt as thanks. He got the number ready, Levi's voice answering, "Did you find something?"

Armin jumped as Erwin started screaming, _"Get you're short little ass into my office! Now!"_ He slammed the phone shut, tossing it onto the floor. "If that doesn't get him here, Arlert… _you're all dead."_


	18. Chapter 18

Ariel groaned slightly at the lunch in front of her. "For a prestigious boarding school you'd think the food wouldn't look like it was about to walk away…" She lifted the meat with her fork, juice spilling onto her tray. "Ew."

Sasha chuckled, "Hey, meat is meat." She bit into hers, a look of satisfaction plastered onto her face.

Mikasa poked hers with her fork. "This isn't sanitary."

Cricket eyed Ariel's tray; he snorted with laughter, "At least it's not bleeding this time. That why I bought one of those sandwiches."

Ariel sighed; she eyed the sandwiches Christa and Cricket had bought. "You're right. I should have gotten one."

Christa slid hers to Ariel. "Here, you can eat mine. I'm actually not hungry."

"Are you sure? Is something wrong?"

Christ shrugged, "I don't know just—just something feels off. It's bothering so much I just can't eat. And Kane's death isn't helping with that. What if someone gets killed while we're here at lunch?"

Cricket bit into his sandwich, his eyes on the floor.

Mikasa shoved her tray at Sasha. "I have to go plan the next lesson for gym. Enjoy the meat." She grabbed her backpack, fixing her scarf as she left the lunchroom. Sasha stabbed Mikasa's piece of meat, dragging it onto her own tray and biting into it.

Ariel shuddered, "I really don't see how you can eat all that."

A whistle came from behind, Jean approaching the table and sitting next to Cricket. "Heh. Got enough meat Sasha?"

Sasha nodded, juice dribbling down her chin.

Jean ripped open a sandwich. "I like how people actually bought the lunch. Hey, have you guys seen Armin anywhere?"

Cricket chuckled, "Why? Can't go anywhere without him?"

"Tee hee." Jean snorted, "No. You remember what I told you. He'll forget to eat if he's off reading or something like that. Ariel?"

Ariel shrugged, opening the sandwich Christa had given her. "Nope. Sorry. I haven't seen him at all. But uh—while we're on the subject of people, what's Berdholt like?"

"Berdholt?" Jean turned to look behind him, Berdholt sitting at a table with Reiner and Annie. Jean turned back around the face Ariel, shrugging. "It's hard to say. I haven't talked to him much, but he seems nice. He helped me with math a few weeks ago, so I'd say he's pretty cool. Why?"

Ariel blushed slightly. "Oh. He just wanted to hang out with me sometime…"

"Oh. So like a date?" Jean smirked.

Cricket coughed, nearly choking on his food. "Ariel, don't let him think it's a date." He snarled at Jean, "They're just going to hang out, right Ariel?"

"Uh…" Ariel shrugged. "It could be a date, he didn't really clarify. Christa?"

Christa was staring at the floor, Ariel nudging her. "Christa?"

"Hmm? Oh. Sorry. I was just thinking about—never mind. But yes, I think Berdholt meant it to be a date. He gave off the impression that he liked you."

Sasha swallowed her food, nodding. "I saw him earlier, and he may have said your name. Either that, or I'm crazy."

"You're crazy…" Cricket muttered, biting into his sandwich.

Jean took a sip of his soda, a grin forming on his lips. "Berdholt has a crush on the new transfer girl huh? Interesting. He's in your robotics class right?"

Ariel nodded.

"Nice."

Cricket snorted, "Something's off about him."

"Don't be paranoid." Ariel snapped, "You said that about the Headmaster too, so stop it. It's not like you can choose who I hang out with anyway."

"I'm not. But I can tell you, I don't like the idea of you _with_ older boys."

"Don't give me that protective brother routine." Ariel smirked, "After all, I'm five minutes older."

Cricket's face went red. "Shut up!"

"Maybe that's why I'm taller." Ariel chuckled, "In fact, maybe I should call you my baby brother!"

Jean spluttered, Cricket's face turning scarlet. "Ariel, knock it off."

"Who's the killer?" Christa whispered.

Jean quit laughing, Ariel gazing at her in surprise. "Christa? Are you talking to yourself?"

"Hmm? Oh. I just—I'm just worried."

"More than worried," Sasha cut in, "You've been staring at the floor ever since lunch started. What's up?"

"I just…" Christa sighed, "I just have this eerie feeling something bad is going to happen—or _is_ happening. I can't shake it."

"Don't worry." Jean shrugged, "It's probably just chills?"

Ariel gave him a glare. "Go be an idiot somewhere else, Jean."

"Pfft. Now you sound like Armin." He chugged down the rest of his soda, tossing it into the trashcan. He sighed, "Look, what I meant was, maybe you're just paranoid due to the sudden new of Kane's death?"

Sasha set down her piece of meat. "What if the killer is a student?"

Christa let out a gasp, everyone eyeing Sasha in surprise. Cricket shook his head. "No—no, it can't be a student—can it?" He eyed the floor, _"He was so huge though…"_

"What was that?" Jean countered.

Cricket jumped. "Oh. Nothing."

"No. No, you made a comment Cricket. What is it?"

Cricket avoided his gaze. "Nothing—it's nothing."

"What is the killer's the headmaster?" Christa whimpered.

"No." Ariel chuckled, "No, not him. Everyone calm down, okay?" Ariel put a hand on Christa's shoulder. "There's no way the killer could be someone we see everyday. Right guys?"

No one responded, Cricket fidgeting uncomfortably in his seat. His thoughts were exploding. _His abductor was tall._

 _The Headmaster was tall._

 _No—no, that was insane._

Ariel's voice brought him out of his daze, "Cricket? Are you okay?"

"Y—yeah…I'm fine."

Jean snapped his fingers. "What if it's someone with like a second personality, you know? They kill at night, but don't remember doing it! It could be a student, too!"

Christa whimpered again, Ariel giving him a glare. "Stop that! That's terrible! You're putting too much thought into it anyway."

"That's a first." Sasha snorted, biting into her piece of meat.

Jean grunted, "At least I don't shove meat in my face!"

"Bring it on, horse face." Sasha stabbed her fork into the small remainder of her meat, grinning wickedly. "Need I bring back the dodge balls?"

Jean laughed nervously, "What? No. Carry on. Eat all the meat you want."

"I can't do this!" Christa rose from her seat. "Something wrong. I can feel it. I have to—Ymir! I need to see where she is!" She grabbed her backpack, bolting away from their table.

"Christa! Wait!" Ariel called, Christa running out of the cafeteria entirely.

In another section of the school, Connie ripped open his bento box, stabbing his chopsticks at the rice inside. "I really don't get why we have to use these for rice, I mean, nothing stays on here." He glanced over at Eren, who was usin the chopsticks without fail.

"Sorry." Eren shrugged, "Mikasa taught me how to use them."

"See. That was nice, right?" Connie leaned against one of the lockers behind him, grabbing some rice with his tongue and swallowing. "Anyway, Jaeger, we need to think of something that will help you with your image."

"Can I ask a question first?"

"Shoot."

"Why are we eating lunch in the hallway?"

Connie chuckled, "Well, for starters, the hallways is practically empty with the death, and also since it's lunchtime. I figured time with the Conster is what you need to help your reputation."

Eren snorted, "I'm starting to second guess this."

Connie gulped down some more rice. "And why's that?!"

"You just called yourself the Conster." Eren chuckled, "What can I learn from the— _The Conster?"_ Eren burst into laughter, Connie crossing his arms in a pout.

"Laugh all you want, Jaeger, but I'm your only hope at a nice kid future. Besides, I'm the only one you haven't antagonized, so in technicality, I'm the best bet by default."

"Fine, _Conster,"_ Eren grunted, "What all can you teach me?"

"Well, first of all, stop shoving kids. It makes you look cold and heartless. Especially if you shove cute short ones, like Armin and Cricket."

"Cute? Them? You're nuts. Besides," Eren ate some more rice, a smug grin on his face, "You're shorter than Armin. In fact, you're barely taller than Cricket."

Connie stuttered, "That—that has nothing to do with anything! Just stop pushing."

"Is that all? Just no shoving?"

Connie sighed, "No. I—hey, I took notes on what I was going to teach you. My lockers down the other hall, I'll go get it. Wait here, and the lesson can begin." Connie scurried away, running down the next hall.

Eren chuckled to himself. "If you can get there with those stupid short legs of yours."

He was about to take another bite of rice, when an earsplitting scream caused him to jump and drop his bento box onto the ground. He felt a twinge of panic. "Connie?!"

He bolted, having to jump over his spilled rice to keep from falling. He heard another shriek from down the hall, and he burst into laughter at the sight.

Connie was on the ground, a panicked expression on his face, Ymir right on top of him. Connie squirmed from under her, "Ymir! That—that wasn't funny! Get off me!"

"Now that is what I call a prank!" Eren cackled.

Connie attempted to shove her off. "Ymir, this isn't…this isn't…" his eyes widened, "E—Eren…"

Eren was still chuckling, "Y—yeah?"

Connie's voice was a whimper. _"She's not moving…"_

Eren's laughter ceased, a pit of worry filling his system. "Not—what do you mean she's not moving? Connie, this isn't funny!"

"I—I'm not joking!" Connie really sounded panicked now, squirming frantically. "Get her off of me, she's too heavy!"

Eren's arms shook as he pushed Ymir's form off of Connie, his eyes widening as she flopped onto the floor beside Connie, blood soaking her abdomen. "C—Connie…she…" He looked down at Connie, the smaller boy's face pale, blood all over his shirt.

"C—Connie…" Eren stuttered.

Connie rose from the floor shakily, eyeing the blood on his shirt. He looked athis open locker, bloodstains at the bottom. "She—she was shoved into my locker…."

"C—Connie?"

"She…" Connie looked at his shaking arms. "Someone killed her…and put her in my locker."

Eren felt a twist in his gut.

Ymir was dead?

Eren looked at her again, and this time he knew it was certain. Her eyes were already open wide. "C—Connie…are—are you okay?"

Connie was still frozen in place, staring at Ymir's dead body, his arms shaking.

"Connie?"

"She—they—she'd always help me with pranks, Eren…" There was a slight hiccup from Connie, his lip quivering.

Eren looked away from both of them.

 _This couldn't be happening._

Eren's arms shook as he pulled his phone out of his pocket, dialing the office number. He swallowed hard when he heard the secretary's cheery voice, "Yes, how may I help you?"

"Th—this is Eren Jaeger and— _there's been another killing…"_


End file.
